Movers & Shakers overs & Shakers
Movers & Shakers Calgary Zoo Flood Mitigation In June 2013, flood waters ravaged southern Alberta. Five people died, and financial losses and property damage came in at about $6 billion. One of the many institutions affected was the Calgary Zoo. Repairs alone would cost $50 million. And once the water had receded, the race was on to develop a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy that would protect more than $300 million of zoo infrastructure into the future. ISL Engineering and Land Services and Associated Engineering answered the City of Calgary’s call for the design and implementation of the mitigation plan. Early on, the need for flood protection above and below the ground surface was realized—when the river rises, so does the groundwater. A ZOO LESS VULNERABLE After heavy flooding led to extensive damage at the Calgary Zoo in 2013, a flood mitigation program was commissioned to ensure the zoo was protected well into the future. A cofferdam perimeter wall was chosen to isolate St. George’s Island, the Bow River site of most of the zoo. The dam was combined with a dewatering system to manage stormwater runoff and groundwater levels. ISL and Associated used hydrogeological modelling to select the appropriate dewatering system—one that was simple, reliable, and cost efficient. The flood model was refined and calibrated with the performance data gathered, and final tests confirmed that one-in-100-year flood protection had been accomplished. The flood mitigation project was subjected to civic and public pressure from the beginning. The City of Calgary was keen to protect more than a century of financial and intangible investment in the zoo, and citizens wanted the project completed quickly and with the least amount of disruption. After the project’s completion, the Calgary Zoo logged what it called its best year ever, in 2018. The zoo will continue its work—safe and without fear of flood— as a leader in wildlife conservation. -photo courtesy Associated Engineering/ISL Engineering and Land Services
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Mechanized River Valley Access Twenty-two times larger than New York’s Central Park and the largest urban parkland in North America, the North Saskatchewan River Valley runs through the centre of Edmonton and entices visitors with its steep slopes and easy flow. But for people with mobility issues, the river valley’s invitation often went unanswered. The City of Edmonton decided to address that shortcoming, tagging DIALOG to spearhead the Mechanized River Valley Access (MRVA) project. DIALOG broke the MRVA project into multiple pieces—a funicular, stairs, a promenade, a pedestrian bridge, a cantilever lookout, and a glass elevator—and resolved to ensure no part of the project would be an eyesore against the beautiful, natural backdrop. Design innovations abound. The funicular generates electricity with every descent, reducing net power usage. The pedestrian bridge expands and contracts with fluctuations in temperature. A system of partial- depth, precast-concrete deck paneling allowed workers to install the bridge deck, elevator supports, and railings in the winter. The project’s ecological impact was minimized, with the design team taking the nesting periods of migratory birds into account and maintaining wildlife corridors. In the MRVA’s inaugural year, the funicular alone was used more than 114,000 times, which was double what the city expected. More important, the project had opened the river valley up to people of all ages and abilities.
COLLECTING CANADA’S HISTORY The Royal Alberta Museum has a new place to display its collections—one that also showcases elaborate feats of engineering in its construction. - photo by Tom Arban Photography Inc.
Royal Alberta Museum As a place of exploration and connection, the old Royal Alberta Museum had it all: interesting exhibits, extensive collections, and even royal patronage from Queen Elizabeth II. What it didn’t have was a home that could contain its myriad collections properly. Enter DIALOG , which in 2014 came in with a major assist. Charged with creating a sustainable and innovative building to shelter physical evidence of the country’s invaluable history, DIALOG integrated esthetics with functionality to build a museum worthy of its treasures. Concrete plays a huge role in the building, from the flat-plate slab floors that support the heavy displays and collections, to the toppings on the steel roof decks that protect collections from temperature swings. An innovative, second-level theatre cantilever over the museum’s main entrance adds flair, but that’s not the best part of walking through the front door: a large, swooping staircase stretches almost 18 linear metres from the lobby all the way up to the second floor. The staircase was a feat in itself, requiring a special design to resist twisting, bending, and shearing, and to lessen the vibrations from usage. The sprinkler line was also placed in the stair to keep it out of sight. DIALOG aimed to achieve silver status under the LEED certification system, the widely used rating system for energy-efficient and environmental designs. Consider that job done—the company blew past silver to LEED gold.
2019 Beaubien Award Francois Plourde, P.Eng. , an APEGA member who lives in Laval, Quebec, received the Beaubien Award for exceptional service to the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies and other professional achievements. He has been involved in some of Quebec’s largest transportation engineering projects, including the Dorval Interchange reconfiguration, the Champlain Bridge replacement, the Turcot Interchange reconstruction, and the completion of Highway 25 between Montreal and Laval. At CIMA+ , where he’s the president and CEO, Mr. Plourde promotes respect and cooperation. They’re values that have helped earn the company an Aon Hewitt ranking as one the best employers in Canada, every year since 2011. Mr. Plourde is involved with the Fondation Charles- Bruneau, which is an organization devoted to fighting pediatric cancer, and has served on the United Way’s Greater Montreal Board of Directors.
- photo courtesy Tom Arban Photography
A MECHANIZED INVITATION By increasing access to the city’s river valley, the funicular—part of Edmonton’s Mechanized River Valley Access project—encourages Edmontonians to get out and explore.
- photo courtesy Association of Consulting Engineering Companies
HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED Francis Plourde, P.Eng., right, was recognized at the annual Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Gala for a seemingly endless list of professional accomplishments, many of them involving major projects in Quebec.
32 | PEG WINTER 2019
WINTER 2019 PEG | 33 SUMM 2 WIN 2 19
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