Award

24 | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 Steel Building Systems City officials reportedly had been planning for such a facility for 20 years, and mayor Josée Néron remarked, "We wanted a magnificent building, something that will do us honour." Projects of this magnitude inevitably benefit local economies, and when the Saguenay complex was formally announced Francis Lacasse, chairman and CEO of Honco, explained how the majority of sub- contracting contracts would be awarded: "I would like to point out that 95 percent of the 50,000 hours worked will be performed by people from the region and 90 percent of the subcontracts will be given to local businesses." In the recreational realm, Honco's prefabricated recreational steel buildings offer a very large clear span at a competitive cost, and their unique design eliminates the need for structural elements along the walls. This open space facilitates the installation of bleachers or walkways along the walls for the benefit of spectators. Plus, Honco's prefab recreational construc- tion system differs from other systems in the steel building industry due to its energy efficiency: in addition to using a superior insulation method that produces no thermal bridge, the energy efficiency of the building itself is optimized by integrating a Galvalume finish on the structural ceiling, which reflects light and has a low level of radiant heat emissivity. This reduces the volume of unused space, resulting in lower cooling and heating costs. Energy efficiency of the building envelope is also optimized thanks to a well-ventilated attic. As for the Saguenay complex's relatively quick construction time, this is due to Honco having built close to 100 sports facilities across North America, which has given the company considerable acumen and the ability to provide a personalized approach for a better needs assessment – which in turn ensures an accurate construction budget and a com- plex that often exceeds specific requirements. Finally, the Agawa Canyon Tour Train Station project in Northern Ontario demonstrates just how architecturally advanced steel buildings can be. This new train station provides tourist journeys through Agawa Canyon and fits in with other his- toric buildings whose histories date back to the earliest days of Ontario as a province. The initial idea was to use a Robertson Building Systems frame for the new station, which was con- ceived as a long building in the middle with two lean-tos on either side. But it was subsequently agreed that Robertson could create a pre-engineered building (including fabrication of all the steel col- umns, rafters, and bracing) and stay faithful to the concept. The 30-foot-high clear span central building would have a double-slope roof with straight col- umns and 19-foot high lean-to frames on either side. The entire exterior was bricked (with lateral sup- port) except for the arched glazing, which reflected the style of other buildings in the area. The roof of all three buildings was clad in a six-inch-thick, 24 gauge CFR insulated foam panel, 36-inch wide and finished in Burnished Slate. Plus, a standing seam joint ensured that the roof is virtually impenetra- ble, even to the severe Northern Ontario winters and build-up of rooftop ice and snow. The station opened for business late last year, and reportedly the guests who take the tour automatically assume the Robertson structure is of vintage period. A Complex nearing completion in Saguenay, QC. P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y H O N CO S T EEL B U I L D I N GS Total Design + Build Solutions . s t c e j o r P f o o R n e e r G r u o Y r o F Architek_AWARD_0321.indd 1 2/9/21 9:35 AM Proudly contributing to a more sustainable approach to building in the north.

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