Designing Resilient Cities

Uncompromising Performance:

According to the Resilient Cities Network, urban resilience responds to three converging global megatrends: climate change, urbanization, and globalization. Entuitive plays a key role in designing structures to withstand man-made threats (whether accidental or deliberate), climate events, climate change, and impacts resulting from growing population density. Here, we touch on the HOW behind several project examples and our commitment to the development of better solutions.

As cities both densify and become more walkable, spaces will need to be converted when their original use is no longer relevant. We get this and we're immersed in this work. For example, we have been involved in projects where new transit infrastructure is influencing the use of cars for the commute to work. We work with clients to consider the use of above and below grade parking garages and entry ramps for the day when those parking spaces may not be necessary.

Risk to Change in Use

9th Avenue SE Parkade & Platform Innovation Centre

The Calgary Parking Authority’s 510-stall parkade, located on 9th Avenue SE, will go beyond its function to participate in the cultural landscape it services, supporting visitors to New Central Library and the National Music Centre, in addition to other East Village and downtown destinations. It will also serve as an innovation incubator space, in an interesting mixed-use scheme.

Location: Calgary, Canada Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Ian Washbrook about this project

“Flexibility is integral to the design so that amenity spaces and future occupancy changes can be facilitated. Should self-driving cars start to drive people around and parking garages slowly become extinct, the building can be converted to residential and/or commercial space.”

“Deep energy retrofits, particularly in the context of affordable housing, are a crucial tool in addressing climate inequality. The types of buildings best suited for these retrofits are often highly susceptible to climate change (overheating, for example), occupied by those most vulnerable to increased energy costs, and unable to take advantage of historic energy incentives due to implementation costs or ownership barriers. Commitment and funding for deep energy retrofits will help address many of these issues and realize the massive collective carbon reductions associated with aging existing building stock.”

Ken Soble Tower - Passive House Retrofit (EnerPHit)

Entuitive studied the feasibility of a Passive House EnerPHit retrofit at this 18-storey residence. Our team reviewed the building envelope and structural components and determined remedial and retrofit work required to meet Passive House criteria and City Housing’s new programming requirements. The Ken Soble Tower is one of the largest EnerPHit projects in the world.

Location: Hamilton, ON Services: Building Envelope & Structural Restoration Consultant

“550 Washington is located across the West Side Highway from the Hudson River in New York City. The FEMA-established flood level has been established as the finished floor level of the Ground Floor (Level 01). This level is approximately six to seven feet above the adjacent sidewalks. The project consists of an overbuild adding new office floors on top of the original rail terminal.”

550 Washington Redevelopment

550 Washington Street was constructed in the 1930s as St. John’s Rail Terminal, the depot for the rail tracks that are today’s High Line. As an overbuild project, 550 Washington is re-using and adapting an existing structure to create a modern workplace of the future.

Location: New York, USA Services: Structural Engineering, Special Inspections & Temporary Works Peer Review Consultant Talk to Barry Charnish about this project

“The 2013 flood devastated Calgary’s Saddle Dome infrastructure. Currently in the design phase, we are designing the new structure to be resilient to both ground water and overland flooding. We are using a secant pile cut-off wall around the perimeter to reduce the flow of the ground water to a manageable level.”

Calgary Event Centre

The Event Centre is a crucial component in Calgary's transformative work in East Victoria Park and is the third major community-building project ongoing in the Rivers District. It will also be the home of the Calgary Flames hockey team.

Location: Calgary, AB Services: Structural Engineering, Transportation Movement & Pedestrian Modelling Consultant Talk to Ian Washbrook about this project

31A Parliament at the Distillery

This exciting project involves a 50+ storey residential tower with podium, a five-storey retail and commercial “ribbon” building built from mass timber, and a deep five storey basement. The location immediately north of the railway corridor required our crash wall expertise.

Location: Toronto, Canada Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Jonathan Hendricks about this project

“Our cities are densifying, and the need for development close to transportation infrastructure is stronger than ever. We need to make use of these sites, and we need to do so safely.”

Preparing for the day when parking garages might not be necessary begins at the design phase. Considering early on whether the change in levels of parking ramps is achieved by a continuous sloping floor or whether there are isolated ramps between parking levels can have an effect on the future use of floors. Also considering increasing floor to floor heights and increasing load allowances to consider the leveling of garage floors is now part of the discussion for new parking facilities.

Risk to Change in Use

Similarly, in mixed-use buildings, the possible alternate use of retail areas into increased lobby space or fitness facilities can affect the initial construction and are considered in our design with the client's support. In our residential projects where the property is a rental space, we can develop a base building design that considers the possible revision of units from single bedroom and bachelor units to two or more bedrooms.

Risk to Change in Use

“As municipalities place increased importance on urban revitalization and densification; old, seemingly obsolete structures are re-imagined into vibrant hubs for community engagement. We strive to support these initiatives through thoughtful rehabilitation and renovation.”

Quarters CoLab Building & Ociciwan Building Repurposing

Structural reinforcing of the floor systems at the Ociciwan Building and a new elevator shaft and lift resulted in greater flexibility for gallery space and gathering; key in achieving the client’s vision. At the CoLab Building, roof reinforcing for upgraded ventilation equipment and a suspended grid for lighting, allowed the space to become a thriving performance and events venue for the local arts community.

Location: Edmonton, AB Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Mohammad Moayyed about this project

Our vision for the future is driven by our purpose, and we believe a better world begins with a sustainable planet. For us, Sustainable Performance is our holistic approach and delivery of future-focused, low-environmental impact, high-performance buildings and infrastructure. It resides at the center of our solutions. The services we provide and continue to develop are designed to address climate change and to secure a future that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

Climate Impacts

Daniels Faculty of Architecture & Landscape Design

Located on the southwest edge of the downtown University of Toronto campus, the 1874 historic Knox College building was renovated and expanded to suit the requirements of the faculty while retaining and respecting the building’s history and grandeur. The roof, windows, and walls were restored to their original state while enhancing the performance of the building to provide a comfort level matching today’s standards for occupants.

Location: Toronto, Canada Services: Building Envelope and Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Tom Greenough about this project

“From a building envelope perspective, the challenge was upgrading the envelope to meet current performance goals while respecting the historic context of the existing architecture.”

Mackimmie Block & Tower Redevelopment

Comprising an existing 14-storey concrete frame tower and a five-storey steel framed block connected by a two-storey concrete link building, MacKimmie Block and Tower is the tallest building within the university’s main campus. The block and tower originally served as a library but were repurposed for administrative and classroom spaces, including 500 new study spaces for the faculties of Nursing and Social Work.

Location: Calgary, Canada Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Ian Washbrook about this project

“Now 90% more efficient than the original tower, this is the largest Net Zero Carbon project in Canada. The redevelopment included adding two floors to the existing tower, replacing the existing cladding system with an energy efficient operable double façade curtain wall system, and improving the quality of the interior light along with a new building with similar double façade details.”

2150 Lakeshore Blvd W Mr. Christie Lands Redevelopment

First Capital is planning to develop the 28-acre, former Mr. Christie site into a transit-oriented, mixed use community. The masterplan includes 36 buildings, including residential, retail, and commercial that range in height from low-rise to 71 storeys. Minimizing carbon emissions associated with constructing and operating the buildings are a project priority, as is providing transit connectivity and safe walking and cycling infrastructure.

Location: Toronto, Canada Services: Structural Engineering and Building Envelope Consultant Talk to David Thompson about this project

“Entuitive used digital analysis of various envelop systems to establish performance thresholds for each major cladding and glazing type, and then developed assemblies that could meet these thermal requirements while still being constructible and familiar to the trades in the Greater Toronto market. Pricing for the systems will be developed so that final design decisions can be made based on complete information regarding cost and performance.”

Spaces that do not meet social acceptance, including considerations like the assurance of occupant safety, will discourage people from using them. At the same time, sustainability requirements are becoming increasingly stringent. Resilience can be delivered through the upgrade, maintenance, or reuse of existing structures.

Evolving Demands on Functionality

“Equally important, the same measures that achieve improved energy performance have great benefits with respect to occupant health and comfort. Better thermal comfort due to improved cladding and windows, and elimination of thermal bridges, as well as improved ventilation and reduced risk of condensation, mould, and other symptoms of poor building performance all have a direct impact on occupant health.”

The Research Question

We partnered with PhD student Sheida Shahi to examine how computational design tools and methods could be used to adapt existing building stock with modular construction. Click here to read the full story.

How to Rapidly Adapt Our Aging Infrastructure Talk to Ian Trudeau about this topic

“Our infrastructure across Ontario is aging and we’re also seeing an increase in demand for affordable housing. By adapting the buildings we already have, we can increase their lifespan, make them more efficient, and make them more affordable for both tenants and developers.”

A lack of forward-thinking investment in public transit infrastructure can result in critical transportation hubs in need of major overhauls to catch up with decades of urban population growth forecast to continue for decades to come. A significant portion of our Heritage Restoration involves the restoration of transit and transportation structures.

Urbanization & Population Growth Density

Union Station Enhancement Project (USEP)

In Toronto, we are working for Metrolinx on a number of projects to increase passenger capacity at Toronto’s Union Station while preserving the heritage attributes of a building that is both a National Historic Site and a heritage property of provincial significance. Construction is underway restoring heritage elements such as the Trainshed Roof, the Bay Street Bridge north façade, as well as the heritage Signal Towers, also within the Union Station Rail Corridor.

Location: Toronto, Canada Services: Prime Consultant and Structural Engineering, Restoration, and Pedestrian Flow Modelling Consultant Talk to Matt Smith about this project

“We are completing this work in stages to allow the majority of the facility to remain operational while it is being upgraded with modern electrical, signalling, and communications systems, enabling for future platform widening and the addition of more stairs and elevators to prepare the facility for ongoing population growth.”

According to the World Economic Forum, in the last 20 years, flooding has been the most common natural disaster by far, accounting for 43% of all recorded events. Our team has designed for flood requirements in buildings internationally, including in New York City, Boston, Halifax, and Toronto.

Flooding

When design flood levels are higher than a building’s ground floor, we can design for watertight conditions and hydro-static forces for permanent structures, including uplift to substructure slabs, as well as cantilever wall conditions from the ground floor (related to the sidewalk elevation to the design floor level).

Flooding

In secondary risk mitigation against floods, we have designed critical electrical infrastructure to be located on a podium or on above-grade areas, including emergency generators, to enable occupants to maintain services during such events.

Flooding

“This rail terminal had been flooded during hurricane Sandy. A cellar is located approximately 18 feet below the Ground Floor level. The existing Cellar slab is subject to the uplift hydrostatic uplift pressures from the local tides and the flood conditions. We designed a structural topping slab to resist the uplift pressures and engage these into the tower columns and foundation walls.”

“Also, active and passive flood barrier systems will be implemented at grade to hold back a 1 in 200-year flood event. Active systems include hydraulic flood gates and passive systems include waterproof cladding details and gasketed aluminum panels placed in front of entrance doorways.”

Resilient infrastructure is critical to safe cities, and when this infrastructure fails, the consequences can be catastrophic. Development sites that lie in proximity to rail infrastructure should consider the risks associated with this physical relationship and design in mechanism that mitigate the risks. The safety risks that arise from proximity to an operating railway corridor include the obvious collision of a derailed train (passenger or freight), debris arising out of derailment or explosion, fire, and smoke. Comfort issues relate to both air-borne vibration (acoustic) and ground borne vibration.

Accidental Disasters

We consider each development and the site-specific risk conditions it faces to develop a unique combination of mitigating measures to control the risks to safety. Measures can include setbacks (the physical distance between the tracks and the proposed development), berms of earth to dissipate the energy of derailed train, and crash walls that help deflect a derailed train from catastrophically affecting the adjacent building structure.

Accidental Disasters

Human-generated threats are an unfortunate reality worldwide. We design for varying threat levels of event-based impacts to commercial office buildings. These threat levels vary with each city, the nature of the building’s tenant and their desire for ongoing operations, as well as the building owner’s desire to protect the asset for its subsequent use - be it for immediate occupancy or to protect the structure of the asset so that the duration of any repair may be minimized.

Man-Made Event Protection

These threats can impact the selection of materials, the elemental design, and the connection of the elements. As the degree of protection can have a significant impact on structural costs, we undertake parametric modeling studies to explore the level of protection and the associated cost of various options, working with our clients to deliver a solution that meets their needs.

Man-Made Event Protection

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forever changed the way we view Institutions, public transit, Long-Term Care facilities, and Cultural Centres, among other spaces and structures. Resilience will continue to be a moving target. Mitigation solutions like Pedestrian Modelling will play key roles in designing safer spaces, where populations can thrive.

Pandemics

Cheatham Street Flats

The innovative project features site-built foundations and a reinforced concrete parking structure that supports four levels of prefabricated modular construction. Entuitive is responsible for the structural design of all elements and connections in the modular units, the various structural steel transfer systems throughout the building, and the interface between modular and reinforced concrete construction.

Location: San Marcos, US Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Tom Greenough about this project

St. Clair College Residence

Entuitive provided Offsite & Modular Design and Fire Engineering Consulting on this project to address a housing shortage for students and put them within walking distance of their classes. Sustainability measures included analysis of the modules to minimize additional fire protection material requirements. The modules were also designed to be deconstructed for material re-use at end of life.

Location: Windsor, ON Services: Structural & Fire Engineering Consultant Talk to Tom Greenough about this project

Calgary Event Centre

Location: Calgary, AB Services: Structural Engineering, Transportation Movement & Pedestrian Modelling Consultant Talk to Matt Smith about this project

“Pedestrian modelling can help to test various mitigation measures and quantify their impact on operations. In this way, it can assist with scenario planning for how we might reimagine the use of our sport and recreation and cultural centres, both during the initial reopening and over time as health recommendations evolve.”

In addition to the risks associated with seismic design, which is generally prescribed by design codes, our continuing role in designing tall buildings both in commercial office and residential buildings has required us to use our skills in designing for wind-induced accelerations and the risk to building components of excessive inter-storey drift. These measures affect both concrete and steel buildings.

Seismic and Wind Risk

Our understanding of framing systems and the impacts they have on resisting these accelerations, combined with our knowledge of slosh tank or tuned mass damping systems, inform the solutions we employ for our tall building designs.

Seismic and Wind Risk

Deloitte Tower

Nestled between the historic Windsor Station and the Bell Centre, the Deloitte Tower incorporates a portion of the heritage Bush Shed structure into its design. The tower also includes an open atrium space with a cantilevered feature stair through the floors used by Deloitte, three levels of underground parking adjacent to the tower, street level retail space, and supporting building service spaces. Unique open roof screens conceal rooftop services and cooling towers from view.

Location: Montreal, Canada Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Agha Hasan about this project

“Our leading seismic and wind expert, Agha Hasan, has a specialization in the planning, non-linear dynamic analysis, and design of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete tall buildings under seismic and wind loads.”

Ensuring buildings and infrastructure are safe for fire has always been a key design criterion. We provide holistic, performance-based solutions that meet all stakeholder goals while having the same or better performance than prescriptive building codes might deliver.

Fire

“By leveraging a performance-based approach to fire safety, we are able to show that designs not strictly conforming to prescriptive code requirements still provide the same or better level of performance. In this timber building, improved detection and suppression was shown to mitigate the risk of exposed finishes not meeting code requirements.”

Pig Patch House

This project was the first dowel-laminated, solid wood structure in the UK. The solid wall and floor panels are totally glue- and solvent-free and are made with sustainable timber from Germany. Building a better world means working on innovative designs with environmentally friendly materials.

Location: London, United Kingdom Services: Structural & Fire Engineering Consultant Talk to Matt Smith about this project

Macdonald Block Reconstruction Project

The Macdonald Block Complex is the administrative hub of Ontario government operations and has a total gross building area of approximately 1.7 million square feet. The complex consists of five buildings: four office towers (Hearst, Hepburn, Mowat and Ferguson Towers) ranging from 10 to 24-storeys, connected by a 2-storey podium (Macdonald Block) with two floors of underground parking.

Location: Toronto, Canada Services: Structural & Fire Engineering Consultant Talk to Matt Smith about the fire safety scope for this project

“In the case of existing buildings, the most cost effective and sustainable approach to fire safety is utilizing the inherent fire-resistance of the historic materials and only upgrading where necessary. On this project, a first-principles approach to fire safety was used to create optimized fire protection strategies.”

Many of our urban projects include proximity to heavy and light rail transportation systems. The impact of rail induced noise or vibration can travel through both structure-borne transmission as well as air borne transmission. We work with our clients to ensure our design meets their tolerance of such risk. Past project solutions have included the introduction of natural rubber pads to separate the structure from the structure affected by the noise or vibration.

Noise & Vibration Risk

This type of design requires diligence to the gravity loads but also the lateral loads, to establish recognized load paths and possible breaches to the isolation system. A similar consideration goes into the design of fitness program spaces, where the use of heavy weights or spin classes can trigger annoying impacts for adjacent spaces are part of design efforts.

Noise & Vibration Risk

Calgary New Central Library

The New Central Library occupies 278,000 ft², including public space, and 40,000 ft² for future library expansion. The building structure was built over Calgary’s busiest LRT line, which bisects the site and occupies approximately 40% of the site area. The library’s design puts a strong emphasis on public accessibility and community-oriented spaces, with 80% of the building, including collections areas, allocated to public space.

Location: Calgary, Canada Services: Structural Engineering Consultant Talk to Ian Washbrook about this project

“This structure spans over Calgary’s busiest LRT line. We worked with a vibration consultant to develop a strategy to isolate noise and vibration-sensitive spaces, including a 400-person theatre and three meeting rooms. Box-in-box detailing and construction was employed in the vibration-sensitive spaces, consisting of isolation pads for structural members, slabs, interior partitions, and curtain wall mullions.”

Currently, Entuitive is involved in a number of Tower Renewal projects. These projects, undertaken for social housing authorities, municipalities, seniors’ residences, and multi-family residential building owners, take existing apartment buildings or communities and improve them toward greater sustainability, reduced energy consumption, increased resident comfort, and improved resilience, as well as extending the life of the existing structure to avoid the emissions associated with starting new. These projects are primarily undertaken in the affordable housing sector, including social housing and long-term care housing for seniors.

Tower Renewal

Want to learn more? Contact Barry Charnish

Offsite and Modular Construction is a fitting building method to accommodate a surge in planning for an increased demand for health- and long-term care facilities.

Pedestrian Modelling

We regularly examine how our clients might quantify the performance of their building and infrastructure as it relates to pedestrian movement. To learn more, click here.

Using Pedestrian Modelling to forecast public transit capacity following COVID-19 Talk to Matt Smith about this project

“We have used pedestrian modelling to determine travel times, queuing levels, and Level of Service (people density) for a range of scenarios.”

We continuously evolve our solutions to meet the needs of a changing world. To talk to any one of our subject matter experts, contact us here.

“Buildings that allow for a cellular layout and are structured with a high degree of repeatability are well suited for offsite and modular construction. Affordable housing, student residences, hotels, and long-term care facilities are all cellular in nature and afford the opportunity for high levels of standardization and repetition, making them ideal candidates.”

“Re-use of the existing tower, although not a Net Zero Carbon metric, was one of key design decisions to assist in reducing significantly the embodied carbon on this project.”

Home Risk to Change in Use Evolving Demands on Functionality Urbanization & Population Growth Density Flooding Accidental Disasters Man-Made Event Protection Pandemics Seismic & Wind Risk Fire Noise & Vibration Risk