FORT YORK VISITOR CENTRE Squeezing up to the Gardiner Expressway
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For professional engineers in private practice JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 FORT YORK VISITOR CENTRE Squeezing up to the Gardiner Expressway PLUS: COPELAND Transformer Station Power Boost at the VANCOUVER AQUARIUM www.canadianconsultingengineer.com CCE_JanFeb16_issue_AMS.indd 1 2016-02-05 2:15 PM Flexibility. Now in a smaller package. The SIMPLEX 4007ES fire alarm panel from Tyco Integrated Fire & Security combines big panel features with a small panel footprint perfect for small- to mid-sized buildings. Seamless integration with TrueAlert ES addressable notification appliances, a flexible wiring infrastructure and compatibility with legacy conventional devices—even ones from other brands—gives you much more design freedom. Your clients will enjoy remote diagnostics, ample secure data storage to make compliance reports a snap, and easier maintenance. One look at the SIMPLEX 4007ES and you’ll understand why, when it comes to fire and life-safety, smaller can be better. Find out more about the SIMPLEX 4007ES. Visit us at www.TycoIFS.com. CCE_JanFeb16_issue_AMS.inddSIMP0296_CanConEng_AandE.inddCCE JanFeb 2016 Simplex Grinnell_CSA.indd 2 1 1 2016-02-052016-02-021/26/16 11:45 2:151:19 AMPM January/February 2016 contents Volume 57, No. 1 features Fort York Visitor Centre. Wedged between Toronto’s most Cover: Fort York Visitor Centre, Toronto. important historic site and the giant concrete piers of the Photo by Tom Arban, courtesy Patkau Architects/ Gardiner Expressway is a building that is as unique as Kearns Mancini Architects. See page 14. its location. By Bronwen Parsons 14 Going Underground — Copeland Transformer Station. Engineers are sinking a large transformer station next to the historic Roundhouse and close to other tourist attractions in downtown Toronto. By Bronwen Parsons 19 Power Boost — Vancouver Aquarium Expansion. Consulting engineers AES used innovative ways to avoid the costs of Flexibility. Now in an expensive upgrade to the popular venue’s high-voltage power supply. a smaller package. By Sophie Kneisel 22 Testing Integrated Fire Systems. Highlights from the CAN/ULC-S1001 standard, which will be included in See page 22. the new version of the National Building Code. By Simon Crosby, LEL, CET, CFPS, Jensen Hughes Consulting Canada 25 The BIM Revolution. The use of Building Information Modeling is taking off in Canada and around the world. But for engineers departments it’s not all smooth sailing yet. By Araina Bond 28 The SIMPLEX 4007ES fire alarm panel from Tyco Integrated Fire & Security Comment 4 combines big panel features with a small panel footprint perfect for small- Up Front 6 to mid-sized buildings. Seamless integration with TrueAlert ES addressable notification appliances, a flexible wiring infrastructure and compatibility with ACEC Review 9 legacy conventional devices—even ones from other brands—gives you Products 32 much more design freedom. Your clients will enjoy remote diagnostics, ample secure data storage to make compliance reports a snap, and easier Advertiser Index 33 on topic maintenance. One look at the SIMPLEX 4007ES and you’ll understand why, when it comes to fire and life-safety, smaller can be better. BUSINESS CONVERSATIONS Next issue: Rt. Hon. Herb Corporate Structures to Save Sports Psychology Applied. Find out more about the SIMPLEX 4007ES. Gray Parkway in Windsor, Ont.; Taxes. Basic advice on ways Mark Blamey of KWL is Visit us at www.TycoIFS.com. rock hazard protection in B.C.; to set up your professional adapting a rigorous model odour control at wastewater consulting company. for personal fitness to his treatment plants. By Chad Saikaley, GGFL 30 leadership role. 34 January/February 2016 Canadian Consulting Engineer 3 SIMP0296_CanConEng_AandE.inddCCE JanFeb 2016 Simplex Grinnell_CSA.indd 1 1 2016-02-021/26/16 11:45 1:19 AMPM CCE_JanFeb16_issue_AMS.indd 3 2016-02-05 2:15 PM CMPX2016CanConsultingEngineerAd_Layout 1 2016-01-13 12:49 PM Page 1 FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE comment engineerCANADIAN CONSULTING Editor Bronwen Parsons (416) 510-5119 [email protected] Senior Publisher Maureen Levy (416) 510-5111 The big urban squeeze is on [email protected] Art Director undreds of people came out on a cold night in Andrea M. Smith January to hear plans for changing the Gardiner Contributing Editor Expressway in downtown Toronto (see p. 8). It Rosalind Cairncross, P.Eng. H Advertising Sales Manager was mostly the grey-hair crowd, which is strange since Vince Naccarato (416) 510-5118 it is young people who predominate in the host of new [email protected] condo towers near the roadway in question. Certainly Editorial Advisors there were plenty of young 20-somethings packed on the subway Bruce Bodden, P.Eng., Gerald Epp, P.Eng., Chris Newcomb, P.Eng., coming downtown that night. Perhaps they were all travelling from Laurier Nichols, ing., Lee Norton, P.Eng., one place of precarious part-time employment to another, or they Jonathan Rubes, P.Eng., Paul Ruffell, P.Eng., just wanted to get home to their tiny units, some as small as 500 Andrew Steeves, P.Eng. Circulation square feet. Barbara Adelt (416) 442-5600 x3546 Squashing and squeezing into tight spaces is a trend these days, not E-mail: [email protected] just for people (you should see how small my new office cubicle is), but Account Coordinator Cheryl Fisher (416) 510-5194 also for buildings and infrastructure. In this issue both the Fort York [email protected] Visitor Centre (p. 14) and the Copeland Transformer Station (p. 19) sit Vice President, Annex Business Media East edge-by-edge to the Gardiner. They are wedged in beside the great mono- Tim Dimopoulos (416) 510-5100 lith that carries 120,000 to 200,000 vehicles across the city every day. [email protected] President & CEO The meeting in January was just one of scores that the city has held Mike Fredericks over the last nine years about what to do with the decaying Gardiner. The [email protected] debate is broadly characterized as downtowners who see the expressway CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER as an eyesore vs. commuters who want a fast expressway downtown. is published by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. 80 Valleybrook Drive, What was gratifying about the meeting to present the new "hybrid Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9 option" was that a consulting engineer led most of the presentation. Tel: (416) 442-5600 Fax: (416) 510-5134 It's unusual for an engineer to be front and centre in large public EDITORIAL PURPOSE: Canadian Consulting Engineer maga- zine covers innovative engineering projects, news and business meetings, but Don McKinnon of Dillon Consulting did a fine job of ex- information for professional engineers engaged in private plaining the different options in terms that everyone could understand. consulting practice. The editors assume no liability for the ac- Then, during the question and answer period he showed to what lengths curacy of the text or its fitness for any particular purpose. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada, 1 year $60.95; 2 years $91.95 + taxes engineers go to work out every technical detail. The other panelists lis- Single copy $8.00 Cdn + taxes. (HST 86717 2652 RT0001). tened in awe, for example, when he readily responded to a question from United States U.S. $60.95. Foreign U.S. $60.95. PRINTED IN CANADA. Title registered at Trademarks the audience about traffic flows. Without losing a beat he gave a detailed Office, Ottawa. Copyright 1964. All rights reserved. The con- tents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part explanation of how the different road curvatures, ramp locations, etc. of or in full without the consent of the copyright owner(s). three different scenarios would affect traffic weaving and safety. ISSN: 0712-4996 (print), ISSN: 1923-3337 (digital) The Gardiner, like the Ville-Marie Expressway in Montreal, is one of POSTAL INFORMATION: Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065710. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circu- the audacious urban arteries that were built in the 1960s when the car lation Dept., Canadian Consulting Engineer, 80 Valleybrook ruled supreme and when confidence in engineers was high. This period Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. USPS 016-099. US office of publication: 2424 Niagara Falls after World War II has been referred to as the "Golden Age" of engineer- Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304-5709. Periodicals postage paid at Niagara Falls, NY. US Postmaster: send address changes to ing in Canada. Canadian Consulting Engineer, PO Box 1118, Niagara Falls NY Those days are gone. No more can we build as if everything were a 14304. PRIVACY: From time to time we make our subscrip- blank slate. Buildings and infrastructure today have to fit into their con- tion list available to select companies and organizations text and do the least environmental damage. The "reduce" and "reuse" whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, mantras of sustainability dictate that developments be condensed, bur- please contact us. tel: 1-800-668-2374, fax: 416-510-5134, ied, layered and squeezed in. e-mail: [email protected], mail to: Privacy Officer, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON Canada M3B 2S9. Packing buildings into dense urban sites is exceedingly complex. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations. From engineers it requires hard skills of calculation and analysis. It also Member of the Canadian Business Press requires skills of communication, persuasiveness and respectfulness for dealing with the public's concerns.