CISC honours the best in Ontario steel construction

The Ontario region of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction recently held an awards ceremony in Toronto to celebrate innovation and excellence in the design and construction of steel structures by showcasing signature projects.

"Steel is a product you see in construction that partners with all materials. I believe we have to partner with all materials, and consultants to make sure we have an ethical and sustainable future," said Ed Whalen, Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) president, during the ceremony. "It gives me great pride to see CISC members and associates, along with talented project teams being showcased and honoured both at the regional and national level."

The Ontario Steel Design Awards of Excellence & History of Strength gala was held at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto on April 26th. This event recognized projects for innovation and excellence. It also honoured individual contributions to the steel industry with the History of Strength awards.

The Award of Merit in the architectural category went to the Centennial College Ashtonbee Campus Renewal project in Toronto.

The project was developed by the College and MacLennan, Jaunkalns, Miller Architects. The building is clad in triple glazed curtain wall and an innovative system of asymmetrically mounted stainless steel panels.

The result is an elegantly proportioned structural steel truss system that supports 40,000 square feet of new program space and incorporates a 90 m long continuous room along the Ashtonbee Road. The project has targeted LEED Gold status.

The full build-out also incorporates a 5,500 square foot vertical addition to the existing gymnasium in structural steel as well as 48,500 square feet of renovation to existing spaces.

The project team on the project includes: EllisDon Construction (architect); Benson Steel (fabricator); INFocus Detailing Inc. (detailer); Stampa Steel Erectors Ltd. (erector); and Blackwell (engineer).

The Award of Excellence in the architectural category was awarded to Brookfield Place Pavilion in New York, NY, which is an architecturally exposed steel structure in the financial district. It is the entryway pavilion of Brookfield Place, which is the headquarters of Brookfield Properties.

The central supporting, two spiraling steel basket structures rise 55 feet from the ground to hold up the roof, creating a transparent jewel box that serves as the grand entrance.

The project team includes the Walters Group Inc. (fabricator, detailer, erector), Thorton Tomesetti (engineer), Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects (architect) and Plaza Construction (contractor). Humber College Building F Addition in Toronto won the Engineering Award of Merit for a two storey, 38,000 square foot addition on top of an existing two storey building, which adds classroom and laboratory space to the North Campus.

The project uses a structural steel solution and was fast-tracked to achieve construction during the three month summer holiday break. The use of structural steel framing and concrete on steel deck minimized the additional weight on the existing columns and spread footings, as well as minimized the seismic forces.

Steel trusses were utilized to cantilever the addition 24 feet beyond existing building, creating space for the student lounge and providing incredible views to the surrounding ravine.

The project team includes the contractor Eastern Construction, while the consultants are Norak Steel Construction Ltd (fabricator); Base Line Drafting Inc. (detailer); Niagara Rigging and Erecting Engineer (erector), Read Jones Christofferson Ltd. (engineer), Mongomery Sisam Architects Inc. (architect).

The Award of Merit in the architectural category was won by the Breithaupt Block Building ONE project in Kitchener.

Perimeter Development Group and Allied REIT took ownership of the building in 2009 and to salvage the existing structure while adding 4 new floors of useful space above. The final end use of the new development is high end office space with Google being the current tenant.

The contractor of the project is Zehr Group, while the architect is Robertson Simmons Architects Inc. Consultants are ACL Steel (fabricator, detailer) and MTE Consultants (engineer).

An Awards of Excellence in Engineering (Building Category) was given to the Queen Richmond Centre in Toronto. In addition, an award of Excellence in the Engineering (Bridge Category) was received by Lee’s Avenue Bridge in Ottawa.

The Converted to Steel Award of Excellence went to the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University in Toronto.

Finally, the 2015 History of Strength Award Recipients were Wilson Belford, Peter Boyle, Joe Giacomelli, David Roy Hiltz, and Bill Tyas.