Builders’Builders’Toronto Construction Association’s Quarterly Perspective DigestDigestVol. 2 No.2 Summer/Fall 2008
RBCRBC CentreCentre Toronto’sToronto’s mostmost environmentallyenvironmentally friendlyfriendly officeoffice towertower
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140 years of Service photo by John Leperre, Ellis-Don
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| Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 contents Features 9 Setting a 'gold' example With the new RBC Centre, Toronto is set to welcome the city’s most environmentally friendly office tower to date By Liz Katynski 16 P3s pick up speed A look at public-private partnerships and the increasingly important role they play in the GTA By Liz Katynski 17 Scraping the sky The Bay Adelaide Centre represents the first tower skyscraper to be built in Canada in more than two decades By Kelly Parker
Page 9
Features 21 Steeling for change Modern technology drives a whole new era in the design and construction of steel structures By Kelly Parker
Page 21 Page 17
DEPARTMENTS 6 President’s Message By John Mollenhauer 25 Upcoming Events 26 Advertisers' Index
Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 | President's message
Builders’Toronto Construction Association’s Quarterly Perspective Digest
TCA Builders’ Digest is published for the Toronto Construction Association 70 Leek Crescent, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1H1 The modern Tel: (416) 499-4000 • Fax: (416) 499-8752 constructor www.tcaconnect.com Toronto Construction Association
As little as 10 years ago, I would not Publisher Robert Thompson have characterized the construction Editors Jeanne Fronda, industry as "dynamic." Dan Kenning By that I mean that methodologies and Associate Editor Roma Ihnatowycz technologies related to how we designed and constructed buildings had been rela- Sales Supervisor Sharon Komoski tively unchanged since the turn of the cen- Sales Executives Les Bridgeman, Gary Fustey tury. Admittedly, we had the advent of the Bruce Jones, personal computer in the early ’80s and Contributing Writers Natalia A. Feduschak, global communications with the intro- Nestor Gula, Liz Katynski, duction of the Internet in the early ’90s, Eric Lee, both of which had considerable impact. John Mollenhauer, John Schofield But realistically, the notion of becoming sophisticated and embracing these new Production Team Leader Adrienne N. Wilson John G. Mollenhauer, President technologies was clearly not our highest Senior Graphic Design Specialist James T. Mitchell Toronto Construction Association priority. Part of that was pure economics. Computer aided design (CAD), for exam- ple, took years to become commonplace. Published by: But times have changed. And we have without question become a
dynamic industry. These days, conversations prefaced by “remember when” are usually referring to the way things were just three or four years 5255 Yonge Street, Suite 1000 Toronto, Ontario M2N 6P4 ago … not three or four decades ago. Toll Free: (866) 216-0860 ext. 229 The “modern constructor” has morphed into a construction science [email protected]
professional preoccupied by such things as structured financing, quanti- 1 Wesley Avenue, Suite 301 Winnipeg, MB Canada R3C 4C6 fied risk mitigation, labour productivity indicies, sustainability, building Toll Free: (866) 201-3096 information modelling, occupational health and safety protocols and Fax: (204) 480-4420 www.mediaedgepublishing.com “footprint” reductions. Good God! It’s no wonder we have so many disputes. We’ve all had to President Kevin Brown learn a foreign language and every time we get it halfway figured out, it Senior Vice-President Robert Thompson changes again. From a builder’s perspective, managing a construction company used Production Manager Nancie Privé to be all about bricks and mortar. As a result, the average Joe with the
wherewithal to arrange a little bonding could hang a shingle and open for All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the business. Not so anymore. On the contrary, the modern constructor needs association. Published October 2008. a plethora of new management skills to survive profitably … and the tools Publication Mail Agreement #40787580 to apply that knowledge effectively. Return undeliverable copies to: Toronto Construction Association Before we talk about new technologies, let’s deal with the new face 70 Leek Crescent, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1H1 of an old problem: cash flow. As North American contractors, we are Phone: (416) 499-4000 • Fax: (416) 499-8752 used to doing the work first and being paid later. I say North American because in some parts of the world, the cash flow shoe is on the owner’s foot. In any event, the cash flow related challenge for the modern con- structor isn’t simply coping with the added layers of scrutiny that push average payment terms out past 45 days. That, theoretically, is surmount- able if contractors have the wherewithal to increase their lines of credit, interest rates stay affordable, lien acts adjust timelines, and all parties to a contract manage to keep their paperwork current.
| Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 President's message
Yes I know, that’s a lot of "ifs." However, in terms of complex- Finding qualified office staff will be equally difficult. As a ity, this pales when compared to understanding the financing/ result, our industry will inevitably continue to rob Peter to pay cash flow nuances for contractors who choose to bid AFP work. Paul in key project management roles. The alternative is dealing Infrastructure Ontario’s DBFM model, for example, requires with an unknown and there is far too much at risk for that. that successful consortia members be accountable for maintain- Enough about things we can relate to like money and ing an asset for upwards to 30 years in addition to the deferred people. Who amongst the old school practitioners understands cash flows associated with their build-finance model. electronic plans rooms, BIM, sustainability, green rating systems As a result, the modern constructor who plays the private- and the notion of a zero footprint, to name a few of the newer public partnership game has to be able to talk the talk, put real technologies/methodologies? numbers to mitigating risk and find creative ways to securitize The answer is simple. Unless we are committed to continu- enormous bonding increases. The alternative is opting not to do ing professional development and/or relying on kids just out AFP work of course, but we are talking about billions of dollars of school to act as technology mentors, we can’t possibly keep worth of new construction. up with the changing demands of an industry that is changing Another old problem with a challenging new twist for the con- so rapidly. structor is labour. In fact, despite the fact that employment in The good news is that our industry is never intimidated and the trades has grown at nearly double the aggregate provincial always manages to adapt, so I like our chances. We have proven total labour rate since 2001, we have still managed to exhaust time and again that we can pull through. the entire available skilled labour pool in Ontario. But fasten your seat belts, folks. The ride is just beginning to Add the fact that many trades are targeting higher levels of get interesting. |BD certification and it becomes clear that successful contractors Respectfully, will need to plan their labour requirements months in advance. Failing to plan will jeopardize labour quality at a minimum and put contractors at risk of increased skilled labour-related legal liability and/or occupational health and safety infractions, both John G. Mollenhauer, President of which are expensive. Toronto Construction Association
Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 |
ENVIRONMENT
SSettettiinngg AA By Liz Katynski ‘gol‘goldd’’ eexxampampllee
With the new IT MAY BE ONE OF THE FIRST HIGH-RISE OFFICE buildings to be built in downtown Toronto RBC Centre, since the building boom of the '80s, but the $300-million RBC Centre marks a far more Toronto is set important "first." It is in fact one of the most environmentally friendly office towers to welcome going up in the country. Located at the southwest corner of the city’s most Wellington and Simcoe streets, the 43- storey, 1.2-million-square-foot building was environmentally completely designed to LEED NC Gold friendly office standards, which stipulate the industry’s toughest measures to ensure sustainability. tower to date Everything from heating and lighting all the way to waste management was planned and devised with an eye on the environment. PCL Constructors Ltd., the general contractors for the project, left “nothing to chance,” explains Darius Zaccak, the company’s construction manager for the Centre. To ensure that all coordinators and project managers were aware of LEED guidelines, PCL appointed a LEED coordi- nator responsible for all related documen- tation for certification. “Quality control to meet the criteria is very well defined from the start,” says Zaccak. A rendering of the new RBC One of the most important environ- Centre, a building designed to mental steps being taken is the recycling LEED NC Gold standards of 99 per cent of construction waste, with PCL ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks. “PCL uses reputable recyclers and we check to ensure they comply. We’ve taken that extra step to ensure account- ability,” says Zaccak. “We are seeing more of this trend in the industry, especially on the large and sophisticated projects.” Under LEED requirements, the site control plan includes sediment control to prevent environmental contamination. It covers the transportation of soils with sedi- ment and construction waste recycling. Any water pumped from the excavation was double filtered in sedimentation tanks and tested before being released into the city sewer. Waste from the job site was sorted
Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 | ENVIRONMENT into metals and general waste, with metals sent to a recycling On the exterior wall, a roller blind system shields occupants depot and general waste to a separation depot. from glare and its light shelf moves up and down to reduce The green-friendly building will feature windows that open glare in summer and provide the most natural light in winter. for fresh air on the lower 10 floors, as well as increased air The lighting systems are driven by sun sensors on the roof exchange throughout the entire structure. The overall feel will and a computer system with software designed by a German be airy and open, with walls made of glass. “This is a wide open company. Indirect light fixtures offer 70 per cent directed design with full-height glass walls, encouraging private offices upward and 30 per cent directed downward light, for increased and meeting rooms on the inside,” says Greg Andrushko, reflected light and reduced glare. Thanks to the quality of the director, Project Management for The Cadillac Fairview concrete surface, lighting is more uniform throughout. Corporation Ltd., developers of the Centre. “It’s pretty slick,” says Neal Barkhurst, partner, Bregman + Hamann Architects, the architects of record for the project, INNOVATIVE LIGHTING who worked together with design architects KPF Architects of One of the most novel introductions is a computer-controlled New York. Barkhurst describes the structure itself as “a normal lighting and shelf system — the first such system installed in building turned upside down.” Built with flat slab concrete Canada. Within this system, automated blinds adjust to the columns and no ceiling suspended in the base, heating, position of the sun to allow maximum natural light without cooling and electrical is supplied beneath the raised access glare. The so-called light shelf is made of a two-foot piece of floor. Sprinkler pipes and light fixtures are located on the polycarbonate on a hinge that adjusts up or down to reduce underside of the floor above. glare and let daylight in. To cool the building, there are no chillers. Instead, the Altogether there are four individual systems for lighting: Deep Lake Water Cooling provides cooling to the building two that provide natural light and two that provide electric by delivering chilled water to floor by floor compartmental light. From the exterior wall inwards there are three zones. As VAV air handling units that serve the under floor plenum.I n natural light increases, the electric lights in each zone turn on colder months, the building is heated off Enwave — the city or off. Occupancy sensors ensure there is light when people are of Toronto’s district hot water and steam supplier for down- present and that it follows them as required in the building. town office building mechanical systems. It heats the water
When one of Canada’s largest financial institutions
hired us to work on one of Canada’s largest LEED projects
they understood something important
We build a future that works.
For a workplace to be proud of call 416.703.5100 or visit our website at www.govanbrown.com GovanBrown Construction Managers Interiors | Base Building | LEED Projects
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Hilti (Canada) Corporation 1-800-363-4458 • www.hilti.ca ENVIRONMENT sent through the pipes around the perimeter of each floor. While the common dark roof provides a heat island effect that retains heat in the building, this one’s white roof reflects it. It’s topped with reflective material, white precast pavers. “The quality and reflectivity of the pavers was important,” says Barkhurst. City regulations normally require a specific controlled flow of storm water, typically done on the roof. However LEED requirements involve retaining the reclaimed water for irrigation and for flushing toilets and urinals on the first six floors. All rainwater from the RBC Centre’s roof is collected in two large cisterns in the basement for this use, and plumbing is water efficient throughout. “This is a whole different thinking on how to deliver a building,” says Cadillac Fairview’s Andrushko. “Building to LEED certification is smarter, not more difficult. You think about the building differently. There are requirements, but what more you spend on construction is made up in operating savings within a few years. It pays for itself.” FULL POWER BACK UP The RBC Centre is also the first building in the city to include 100 per cent emergency power backup. With four generators located on the roof, three will continue to run the building at full capacity in the event of power failure. The fourth acts as a backup for the backups. The generators are bi-fuel, running on half diesel and half natural gas, and they store enough fuel to run full service for three days. They can also be topped up to run even longer. The RBC Centre will collect rainwater into two large cisterns, to be used for irrigation and the flushing of toilets on the first six floors The interior of the RBC and the RBC
Arnold Diker Cell: (416) 605-0559
Mirko DiSabatino EXCAVATINGACTIVE & CONTRACTING (1985) LTD. Cell: (416) 717-4278 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRACTING INC.
150 Creditstone Road Concord, Ontario L4K 1P2 Tel: (905) 660-9966 Fax: (905) 669-3959 [email protected] We are proud to be part of the Bay Adelaide Centre Project www.activeexcavating.com
12 | Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 ENVIRONMENT
Dexia Investor Services Group portion of the building is being the project shared a loading dock with the simultaneous designed by GovanBrown, construction managers for LEED construction of the neighbouring Ritz Carlton Hotel and Gold CI (commercial interior) Certification. This includes another office building. As well, the schedule has been about 620,000 square feet of space over the podium and office tight, with the first two floors – future home to RBC – set tower of the building, with a conference centre, rooftop patio to open next June, and monthly turnovers to follow on and 6,000-square-foot retail branch on the ground floor. other floors. “GovanBrown is proud to be the construction manager on Then there was the 2007 labour strike and last year’s not only one of the largest interiors project in Canada but one harsh winter. “We had an inordinate amount of snow,” says of the largest LEED CI Gold projects,” says Jon Taylor, partner PCL’s Zaccak. “We have a certain expectation of winter. at GovanBrown, a company that has actively participated in When it is more severe, we suffer. But with the co-opera- sustainable building practices over the past three years. tion of the trades, our delays were mitigated.” Like many construction projects, work on the new high- Thanks to the hard work of all involved however, every- rise, which began in August 2007 and should be completed thing is still on schedule. Come next spring, the city in September 2009, has faced its fair share of challenges. can proudly welcome a spectacular new green-friendly These included material-handling logistics, primarily because building to its imposing skyline. |BD
Group Effort Additional companies involved in the construction of the RBC Centre include: Halcrow Yolles, structural engineer; TMP, mechanical engineers; Mulvey and Banani International Inc., electrical engineers; Enermodal, LEED consultant; Anpro Environmental Group, excavation; Deep Foundation Contractors Inc., shoring and casings; Allnue Structures Inc.. framework; Gilbert Steel Ltd., rebar supply; CMB, concrete supply; Modern Niagara Toronto Inc., mechanical; Plan Group, electrical; Antamex International, windows; and ThyssenKruff Elevator Inc. RBC and Dexia are the prime tenants.
RBC Centre Bregman + Hamann Architects with KPF Architects
481 University Ave, Suite 300, Toronto, Canada M5G 2H4 www.bharchitects.com
Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 | 13 Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships
An addition to the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto represents one example of a public-private partnership
Canadian Council for
Public-Private Partnerships By Liz Katynski A look at public-private partnerships and the increasingly important role they play in the GTA
THEY’RE HERE AND THEY’RE STARTING TO ATTRACT Partnerships. “There are payments and This includes, most famously, the more interest from construction compa- penalties, incentives to get a job done on massive Brampton Civic Hospital. nies in the Toronto area. We’re talking time. Sloppy management is costly.” Coined Alternative Financing and about public-private partnerships, or “It’s not for every company,” continues Procurement (AFP), these partnerships P3s as they’re known in the trade. Peatch. “Everyone on the building side provide the provincial government with These partnerships are just what of the team takes on some risk, and they one very important benefit. “This brings their name implies: the public and have to demonstrate a willingness to a certainty to government that they private sector working together on a assume some responsibility. Each party never had before,” says Peatch. “There project. In these arrangements, the has a piece of the puzzle and has to accept is a huge amount of transparency public sector attracts a private partner contractual responsibility.” on these large scale projects of great who brings financial certainty, tight What’s important, says Peatch, is for public interest.” controls on construction costs and companies to go in with “their eyes wide In 2005, the Ontario government scheduling, and possibly reinvestment open.” P3s are not for everyone, especially formed Infrastructure Ontario, an agency in a project to keep it in a great state of not at a time when there is no shortage of tasked with assigning AFPs. To date it repair for 20 or 30 years. conventional work around. For compa- has assigned 35 projects, 18 of which For the contractor, P3s can be quite nies willing to assume the risks, however, are currently under construction. This lucrative, so long as they are managed P3s can prove an excellent opportunity. represents $6 billion in capital construc- properly. However for those contrac- tion in the Ontario market, with 100,000 tors failing to meet their commitment jobs to be created through 2010. to ensure the project is up and running MORE ACTIVITY IN ONTARIO Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. as per the terms of the agreement, they One of the more recent new develop- is one of the companies currently working can turn into a costly venture. ments in the area of P3s has been the on an AFP project – the Runnymede “Agreements are highly incentivized,” increased interest shown by the Govern- Healthcare Centre located in the west says Jean Peatch, executive director, The ment of Ontario in partnering with the end of Toronto. So far progress has been Canadian Council for Public-Private private sector on its large-scale projects. good and the partnership has been an 14 | Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships effective one, according to John Aquino, vice- president, Bondfield Construction Company The $63-million Runnymede Ltd. Whatever challenges do exist, he says, Centre Healthcare project is they are well worth it. expected to be completed in “There are more risks but we are very the summer of 2010 happy to do this type of work,” says Aquino. “We are in business to build, and if this is the way of the future for government projects, we want to be a part of it. It seems the government will be doing more of these in the future, so it is important to us to be able to do it.”
P3S IN THE GTA In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there are currently about 10 AFP projects underway. These include the following major projects:
DURHAM CONSOLIDATED COURTHOUSE The $334-million Durham Consolidated Courthouse is the first design build main- tenance project with the private sector covering architecture, design, construction and building maintenance for 30 years. One of the largest green buildings in Ontario, it is being built to strict environmental stand- ards, conforming to the Canada Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) stand- ards. It will also be certified under the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Go Green Plus program every three years. The Durham Courthouse project is a new building, created on reclaimed land – the former General Motors site in downtown Oshawa. It’s expected to open in fall 2009, consolidating Superior Court and Ontario Court justice services from eight locations in the Durham region. The building will Canada’s leading include 33 courtrooms, three motions rooms, conference/settlement rooms and “SPECIALTY” Insurer other justice services.
The Courthouse features a green roof and T BONDS i0VSOBNFEFöOFTPVSQSPNJTFw reduced water and energy use for a minimal environmental footprint. General contrac- AC tors on this job are PCL Constructors Ltd. According to Ernst and Young Orenda
Corp.’s Value for Money assessment (VFM), ONTR there is an estimated $49 million savings in C completing this project through AFP rather than traditional construction process.
SUNNYBROOK HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s $142-million M-Wing Shell and Perinatal We also o er: and Gynaecology Project started in May t$SFEJU*OTVSBODFt'JEFMJUZ#POETt(VBSBOUFF(0-%¥ 2007, and is expected to be completed t$PNNFSDJBM4VSFUZt%JSFDUPSTBOE0óDFST-JBCJMJUZ gcna.com in 2010. Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 | 15 Four floors are being added to a wing at The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
The project will add four floors above the centre’s clin- being constructed next door to the original facility, and once ical services wing. Two will be home to the Perinatal and completed the old hospital – originally a public school built in Gynaecology Program, welcoming and caring for the most 1908 and converted to a hospital in 1945 – will be demolished. high-risk pregnancies and critical newborns with a state-of- This new facility will more than double the number of beds the-art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. These programs are from 95 to 200 and provide enhanced space for services, including to be relocated here from Women’s College Hospital. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, communication and swal- There will be 68 beds and 48 bassinets to accommodate lowing therapy, audiology services, respiratory therapy, custom- about 4,250 births per year. About 25 per cent of these are ized dietary programs, recreation therapy and social services. high-risk pregnancies and the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. will build and finance Unit will care for those one-in-five babies weighing less the project with financing by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension than three pounds. Fund. They will be paid only when construction is completed. General contractors are Vanbots. VFM, according to Price- waterhouseCoopers LLP, is an estimated $14.1 million. According to KPMG LLP’s VFM, this method is saving an esti- mated $10.91 million compared to construction under a tradi- tional model. RUNNYMEDE HEALTHCARE CENTRE The $63-million Runnymede Healthcare Centre Project was started in November 2007 and is expected to be TRILLIUM HEALTH CENTRE completed in summer 2010. It is a larger new facility that The $104.1-million Trillium Health Centre Project was started in will replace the old Runnymede Healthcare Centre. It is June 2007 and includes the Mississauga and West Toronto sites. The Mississauga site will house a new cardiac catheterization lab, an operating room for cardiac surgery, additional cardio- vascular intensive care beds, additional coronary care beds, an increase of up to 135 in-patient beds, and additional diagnostic and support services. The West Toronto project includes expansion of ambulatory surgical care facilities, redevelopment and expansion of the urgent care centre, creation of a cancer detection and treatment facility, creation of healing gardens, and expansion of a new south entrance. Overall, new construction will add 196,004 square feet, with an additional 86,156 square feet of renovations for a total of 282,160 square feet of total redevelopment space. EllisDon is building and financing the project. The VFM by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP estimates a savings of $12.9 million. |BD 16 | Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 CONSTRUCTION
SScrapcrapiinngg thethe skskBy KELLY PARKERyy
The Bay Adelaide Centre represents the first tower skyscraper to be built in Canada in more than two decades
Photo credit: Walters Group 2008.
Builders' Digest Summer/Fall 2008 | 17 CONSTRUCT347ION Bay Street Site Visit Report 12 - Photographs March 5, 2007 WITH THE CONSTRUCTION BOOM THAT HAS BEEN underway in Canada’s major cities — The Bay Adelaide particularly Toronto — over the past couple Centre is the first tower skyscraper to of decades, it’s incredible that Brookfield be built in Canada in Properties’ Bay Adelaide Centre (BAC) more than 20 years would include the first tower skyscraper to be built in Canada in over 20 years. Yet it does. Set for completion next July, the 50-storey, 1.1-million-square-foot West Tower is the first of a three-phase develop- ment of the site. This is the site’s second recent develop- ment, after an aborted attempt almost 20 years ago to erect a 57-storey office tower at the Bay and Adelaide corner at a cost of almost a billion dollars. The economic down- turn of the early ’90s halted the project after the completion of the underground parking garage and several storeys of a massive concrete service shaft that would become known as “The Stump.” It is fitting then that a structure that served as a reminder of Toronto’s economic diffi- culties is now being replaced with a tower that will mark the city’s resurgence, even as Stones for the mock-up are waiting to be one A of new BAC’s delivery most striking of stones visual has features been cleaned calls to mind Toronto’s early days. returned to Clifford’s main yard. “Backand inis theready early for part repair of last work century to thisbegin. part of Bay Street was really the downtown, and there were a number of buildings on both sides of the street that were about that same height – about 12 to 14 storeys,” says Robert Sampson of WZMH Architects. They were known collectively as the Bay Street Canyon. The city wanted to preserve a notion of that and designated an existing building on the site as an historic structure. Photo credit: © William Conway/Progress Photography.
Modern Niagara TORONTO INC. Mechanical contractors and engineers
Proud to have been the Mechanical Contractor on the prestigious Royal Ontario Museum Renovation and Expansion Congratulations & thanks to the whole team
12 Penn Drive, Weston, Ontario M9L 2A9 Tel: (416) 749-6031 Fax: (416) 749-4673 www.modernniagara.com Photo credit: Walters Group 2008. Group Walters credit: Photo 18 | Builders'A repair Digest Summer/Fall mortar 2008 patch has been cut out and Larger stones can be repaired on their skids. is being redone. Smaller stones must be unpacked and spread about the shop to enable repair work. CONSTRUCTION
A compromise was reached to retain says Walter Koppelaar of Walters Inc., has been incorporated into the BAC that347 façadeBay Street “so that one could appre- which suppliedSite V isit the Report structural 12 steel - Photographs for includes two completeMarch and5, 2007 separate ciate what that canyon feeling was like,” the project. “By the time we’re erecting standpipes on each floor and a glass says Sampson. steel at the top of Bay Adelaide, there are curtain wall designed for blast resist- probably people putting trim and hard- ance in the lower 10 floors. There is ware on the doors of the bottom floors. also increased bite on the glazing to RESTORATION It dramatically complicates the building hold the glass in place, with curtain wall Because the façade was damaged, site because it becomes very much a anchors designed to transfer the load of building around it wasn’t an option; the vertical site, which is a safety challenge.” that blast to the structure. decision was to restore it, requiring an On the subject of safety, the 9-11 “The ground floor lobby is designed attention to detail akin to how a team attacks signalled a new era in building structurally for load reversal,” explains of archaeologists approaches a dig. “We design and construction, and the blast Sampson. “In other words, if there is ended up creating a cataloguing system event containment technology that a blast event on the ground floor, the that involved a full measuring of the façade; sketching it out stone by stone and brick by brick,” explains Sam Trigila of Clifford Masonry. After disassembly, the numbered pieces were completely restored, with &ROM