Projects using the strength of steel

In November 2000, OCAD selected European firm Alsop Architects as design architect to work in a joint venture with Toronto-based Robbie/Young + Wright, the project architect, to produce OCAD's capital expansion project.

The construction of the addition to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, by Studio Daniel Libeskind, is providing some viewing pleasure for those in the city.

Ironworkers Local 721, Toronto, erected the  final piece of steel on July 12, 2005!

This addition was designed by renowned East Coast Architect, Brian MacKay-Lyons, who also teaches at the School of Architecture at Dalhousie.

The headquarters for British Columbia engineers was designed by Busby + Associates. The steel frame building uses extensive daylighting, combined with shading devices to control direct solar penetration into the offices.

This innovative set of sculptural steel installations won a CISC Alberta Region  Honorable Mention Award in 2001.

Santiago Calatrava's contribution to the urban environment of Toronto's business district.

Santiago Calatrava's architectural contribution to downtown Toronto.

The design and construction of the main staircase at BCIT was a joint effort between Architectura and George Third & Son, who fabricated the highly complex steel for this unique stair.

The United States pavilion's designers chose a Buckminster Fuller dome, two hundred feet high (20 stories) and 250 feet in diameter. Almost 40 years after the close of Expo 67, the dome continues to be an important feature in the Montreal landscape.

The mall is located on the Lougheed Highway in Burnaby, B.C. The new Skytrain Millennium Line stops at the mall -- the Brentwood Station, designed by Busby + Associates overlooks the site.

The Caisse de Dépôt et Placement is a highly complex project that employed steel for a variety of reasons. The building itself was constructed on top of the Autoroute Ville-Marie, and needed to maintain a lightness of structure in addition to requiring a system that could span across the expressway. Large steel trusses were used throughout the cross section of the building to this effect.

The Calgary International Airport has long been known as a highly articulated precast concrete building. The current airside passenger expansions are using triangulated HSS steel trusses to create a light airy set of spaces for the new passenger lounges and waiting areas.

The pier that was constructed during Expo 86, designed by the Zeidler Parntership, was one of the key buildings to remain after the majority of the temporary structures were demolished at the end of Expo.

The biggest science project in Canada in more than 30 years is complete at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

The new Canadian War Museum was built to honour the memory of the many who served and died to protect the freedom of Canada.

Cirque du Soleil's International Headquarters (IHQ) in Montreal is the sole creation and production centre for all of the organization's projects. It is composed of two main sections: the Studio and the "Ateliers."

In 2001 the City of Lethbridge commissioned a designated pedestrian bridge to carry people safely across the busy crossing to West Lethbridge over the Oldman River. The bridge won a CISC Design Award in the Structural Category in 2001.

The skylight over the Commerce Court "underground" provides both an on grade resting spot as well as illumination to the business folks below.

The railway bridge that crosses the Oldman River in Lethbridge is the longest of its type, at 1.6 kilometres from end to end. It has functioned successfully for almost 100 years.

The Edmonton City Hall was completed in 1992 by Dub Architects and replaced the existing complex.

Edmonton International Airport uses a variety of steel shapes in its approach to this AESS application.

The Ford Land Services Building was completed in 2002. A specialized steel structure using chevron bracing was employed to increase the free span area of the building.

The Halifax International Airport is a hub of activity on the East Coast. The expansions required to accommodate the increase in travel have been well served by exposed structural steel framing.

The Humber River Pedestrian Bridge was completed in 1995 and received the Ontario Steel Design Award from the Ontario Region of CISC. It is now recognized as a local landmark and carries a constant stream of pedestrian traffic along Toronto's waterfront boardwalk.

For buildings with limited exterior potential for glazing and daylighting, the use of an atrium can provide illumination for office interiors. Structural steel framing to support the vast skylight area on this renovation has greatly improved the quality of space at the interior of this building.

Atrium spaces provide critical illumination at the centre point of commercial buildings that occupy deep urban lots. The renovation to Les Ailes provided daylighting down the atrium core of this newly refurbished shopping complex in downtown Montreal

The new circus school in Montreal opened in 2003 and is the only institution of its kind in Canada.

The Leslie Dan School of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto is the first building by the Foster Partnership in Canada.

The Motorola Building was completed in 2002. An all steel structure was chosen to give longer spans and flexibility in interior planning.

Steel is a material whose ease of recycling has made it a structural material of choice for the Mountain Equipment Coop Stores.

The National Trade Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto, is the 20th century version of an historic building type.

The City of Vancouver National Works Yard on Chess Street in Vancouver is one of the most recent recipients of LEED Gold under the LEED BC rating system.

The grounds of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens is home to one of North America's largest collection of free flying butterflies.

The Ottawa International Airport joins the increasing list of new and renovated airports that have decided to use Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel to define their building.

The addition to the Palais des Congrès de Montréal is one of the most colourful interventions in the district.

The new terminal at Pearson International Airport opened for business in 2004. It presents a clean modern facility that provides a spacious replacement for the recently demolished Terminal One.

The Luminous Veil is an award winning project that creates an effective, highly designed, barrier against suicide occurrences from the Prince Edward Viaduct in Toronto.

The renovation to the Ricoh Centre received the CISC Ontario Region 2004 Honourable Mention in the Engineering category.

Canada's first LEED Silver Library.

The Information Technology Building at the University of Ottawa was designed by IKOY Architects. This building exhibits many of the characteristics that IKOY has been developing since early on in their practice.

The Braid Station uses a combination of structural steel and glue laminated timbers to create the structure for the enclosure.

Brentwood Station is part of the new Vancouver Millennium Line, extension to the above grade transit system for the Greater Vancouver Area. The stations were part of a high design initiative by the Rapid Transit Authority.

The Commercial Station forms a transfer point between the Expo and Millennium Lines. Its situation in the Grandview Cut presented large site issues during the construction phases.

Gilmore Station uses a combination of steel framing, tensioning cables and stressed wood panels to create the canopy that covers the platform waiting area.

Holdom Station is an all steel structure. The roof is made of curved steel beams that clear span the station, surmounted by lanterns that provide skylighting down the centre of the station.

Lake City Way Station was the last station to be completed (aside from VCC which is currently under construction). The all steel structure creates a striking form when viewed from the Lougheed Highway nearby.

Lougheed Station was created using prefabricated long curved box like trusses that were shipped to the site, then lifted into place. Transportation and erection of these gigantic members made the construction of this station especially challenging.

Production Way/University Station uses an all steel frame to form the support and canopy for the station. The side walls, which are made from round HSS sections, were delivered in prefabricated sections to the site. The curved roof trusses were ultimately clad.

Renfrew Station makes use of steel Y columns to support its platform canopies. Its architecture compliments its "sister" station, Rupert, immediately down the line.

Renfrew and Rupert Stations in Burnaby, B.C, are "sister" stations that make use of similar structural vocabulary.

Sapperton Station is the first station along the Millennium Line when approached from New Westminster. The unique structure uses round HSS members to create butterfly like trusses that cover the platform area.

Sperling Station makes sole use of structural steel framing to create the architectural expression of the station. Vertical members use round HSS sections. The primary spanning members use wide flange sections.

The St. John Ambulance Facility used an Integrated Design Process team approach to arrive at this very sustainably designed building.

Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel gives form and expression to this University building as it showcases the height of modern communication technology.

This is the first permanent big top in Canada, and is also a "green building" initiative.

The Toronto Eaton Centre was the first "galleria" type retail establishment of its era. It changed the way designers thought and created shopping space.

Architectural Category Winner of the 2002 CISC Ontario Region Design Awards.

The original buildings for the Metro Toronto Zoo were completed in 1974 as the result of a joint venture amongst several architectural firms.

The Library at the University of Lethbridge uses steel to create a series of clerestories to illuminate the public spaces of the building.

The Vancouver Domestic Terminal creates a clear span over the departures check-in using a modified moment frame tree-like structure.

The three-storey, 105,000 m² airport facility confirms Vancouver's reputation as Canada's foremost gateway to Asia, and one of the world's most popular transfer points for connecting flights to North American and European destinations.

The Head Office of Waiward Steel won the 2001 CISC Alberta Region Award in the Architectural Category.

The Walter C. Koerner Library sits at the centre of the University of British Columbia Campus.

The Waterfall Building forms a secluded artists' focal point to the Granville Island neighbourhood.

Southwestern Alberta has proved to be a vital location for the growing field of renewable wind energy.