Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/640704
66 | FEBRUA RY 2016 Humber River Hospital slab supports the adjacent one. This allowed for the concrete to shrink over the construction period. Two joints ran the full length of the structure from east to west and three spanned the north-south axis. Before finishing began, the joints were then connected using a series of welded brackets or rebar couplings and then grouted solid. "In its final state the system is fully integrated and it eliminated the need for expensive expansion joint hardware in things like cladding," says Edwards. WSP also had to contend with soil issues as it considered the foundation. Given that the large footprint covered much of the site, there was a lot of variability in the soil conditions to manage. A raft foundation supports the tower and series of combined strip footing supports the podium. "To minimize the differential settlement, we didn't use traditional spread footings," says Edwards, "we used a long strip of footing that connects all of the columns to allow it to function as a unit." The variable fill soil issues over the site persisted when it came to the construction of the west parkade, a 54,000-square- foot, six-storey structure. "We used the Geopier rammed aggregate pier ground improvement system to improve the soil for higher bearing capacity allowing for regular spread and strip footings," says Mark Tigchelaar, president of GeoSolv Design/Build, the company contracted to design and construct this solution. GeoSolv's rammed aggregate pier system consisted of auguring a series of up to 16-foot-deep holes that were filled in lifts with crushed stone and compacted to laterally stress the surrounding soil. "Instead of bypassing the soil to find better ground, we improved the load bearing of the existing soil, up to 425 kPa SLS," Tigchelaar explains, adding that in all, over 600 Geopier elements were installed. Groupings of Geopier elements supported mat footing loads up to 19,000 KN and shear wall loads up to 1250 kN/m while controlling settlements to less than one inch total. Like most projects of this scale, solving the challenges of realizing it drew heavily on technological resources. An d while its primary purpose is to deliver care, the hospital's primary means of doing that will remain a reliance on technology. Designed to be relevant now and in the future, Humber River Hospital continues to be carefully watched as an example of the development of an affordable, fully integrated and interoperable digital hospital. A PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN SCHWALM/COURTESY HDR ARCHITECTS INC. Congratulations RainCity Housing! What a great pleasure it was working with you on your amazing project. Russell Food Equipment.indd 1 16-01-08 9:12 Honoured to participate in the 3030 Gordon Avenue project. T: 604-733-9313 | F: 604-733-9314 Email: dshrubb@shrubbdesign.com shrubbdesign.com Shrubb Design.indd 1 16-01-13 8:29 dys architecture Congratulations to RainCity Housing