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74 | J UNE 2018 RENDERING COURTESY GIBBS GAGE ARCHITECTS Seton Recreation Facility interior, culminating in sweeping drywall elements in the hub of the building," says Wittman. All of the lights in the structure and outside areas will use LED bulbs, and a natu- ral gas-fired generator will provide combined heat and power. 3D modelling was required to develop the three different mechani- cal rooms required for the facility. "We determined the precise location of every unit that would go into these rooms before passing over the plans to Bird Construction," says Gibbs Gage contract administrator Chris Johnson. In fact, every aspect of the project was BIM modelled, from clash detection to finishes and technical systems. Construction commenced in the spring of 2016, and John Preston, senior project manager at Bird, notes that over 15,000 cubic metres of con- crete would be used on the project. Most flatwork is exposed concrete that had to be treated, polished, and sealed. He says, "Essentially, the facility consists of three tiers beginning with services, the pool, and fitness areas above, then the arena, theatre, and other amenities on top. It was a substan- tial excavation, and right in the middle of the dig it began to rain – heavily." Preston goes on to note that "pumps were everywhere and we were put- ting down stone to get a working surface." Another challenge was that while the facility would have a conven- tional foundation, some areas required upwards of four metres of upfill. "The design specified with cement stabi- lized backfill," he says. "Also, parts of the pool slab would support parts of the arena above, and after extensive consultation with RJC we modified the foundation and we were able to install the structural steel for the arena first between December and January of 2016. Then, after the roof was up, we were pouring concrete for the dive tower, slide columns, leisure pool walls, and some deckfill and suspended slabs. It was incredibly complicated, but we enclosed the building in time for inte- rior work by the winter of 2017." In addition to crediting the human talent involved in the project, Preston says that by using BIM and PlanGrid, Bird was able to determine matters such as how to integrate the founda- tion for the site's construction crane into the building's foundation, saving time and reducing costs. The software also allowed the team to keep track of several thousand requests for informa- tion. "Despite uncontrollable factors such as weather, the efficiencies pro- vided by BIM allowed us to stay on schedule," says Preston. As of April, crews were working double shifts as anticipated to fin- ish concrete work on the interior rink slabs, install suspended ceilings and millwork to the library, install toppings and tile to the pools and change rooms, and tackle numerous other jobs in anticipation of handing over the facility to get it operations-ready in early 2019. Wittman concludes, "The City of Calgary set the bar high in terms of quality, and even though there's still a lot of work left to be done, we're very satisfied with what has taken shape. This is an amazing building, a true landmark for the young neighbourhood of Seton." A GPH.indd 1 2018-05-15 2:01 PM

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