Award

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | 11 Concrete P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y S T U B B E' S P R EC A S T to superstructure requirements and potential HVAC system and operating savings, these enclosure sys- tems can help pay for themselves immediately. Brian Hall, managing director at the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, views pre- cast solutions as a contributor to building resilience that he believes may be the only way to adapt to cli- mate change. Hall says that climate change "has already had far-reaching impacts on our infrastructure and can put operation and reliability partially at risk, and this trend is likely to accelerate in the coming decades. The main threats to infrastructure assets include damage or destruction caused by extreme weather events. Therefore, besides efforts to reduce climate change, we need to prepare our infrastruc- ture for climate change that we cannot avoid." To date, most building code requirements emphasize life safety, allowing significant dam- age or total collapse as long as occupants can be evacuated before or during the event. These tra- ditionally built damaged buildings have a slow recovery and may even stymie recovery for entire neighbourhoods. But Hall points out that thoughtfully chosen, properly designed new construction can signifi- cantly improve both the resilience to natural and man-induced disasters and the long-term sus- tainability of modern urban environments in the 21st century: "In particular, precast concrete con- struction has the ability to provide highly durable buildings at similar costs to traditional construc- tion, while also providing a more sustainable and resilient construction form, in terms of higher energy efficiency, lower embodied energy, safety, and most importantly quicker return to normalcy after a disaster. "A community's ability to recover from these events depends on many factors. Precast concrete is an example of a material designed to absorb large static and dynamic loads and resist damage due to snow, flooding, and fires." Stubbe's Precast continues to flourish in the busy tertiary and secondary markets, with one of its stra- tegic advantages being that it locked in supply to help prevent the problems associated with mate- rial procurement. This has proven to be crucial, as Stubbe's is renowned for providing total precast solutions involving everything from hollowcore flooring and structural wall panels to double tees, columns, and beams (these products being installed either as a single application or combined into total precast structures, which is Stubbe's specialty). Frans VandenHeuvel, project manager for Stubbe's, reports that the overall market is robust. "Much of our work is in the residential sector and that has been going strong for the past five years now, with our biggest markets being in the Kitchener/ Waterloo, Hamilton, and other areas out- side of Toronto. The rising interest rates are starting to put condo projects and even rental projects on hold, creating hesitancy in the market. We have some work into 2023 but also have a lot of clients with potential projects that are holding off a bit. We do expect the market will increase again as inflation cools and the demand for housing remains." Construction of the Albert Street Waterloo apartments. SMART CONCRETE ® ®

• Cover