Entuitive is committed to delivering uncompromising performance in the built environment. The city of Edmonton, the northernmost metropolitan area in Canada, provides a special opportunity in this regard. With longer than average winters it is especially necessary to provide a built environment that can handle the harsh climate. Our commitment to tackling challenges head-on has allowed us to deliver uncompromising solutions, establishing a firm presence in Northern Alberta.
Since 2016, Entuitive has had boots on the ground in Edmonton, even expanding to a larger office space in April 2020. Our Structural and Building Envelope services are in particularly high demand in the city where an efficient, uncompromised environmental separator is crucial to keeping structures and assets functioning at optimal efficiency all year round.
“We’re committed to delivering the best sustainable solutions we can for our clients in and around Edmonton,”
says Brian Shedden, Principal and leader of the Edmonton Building Envelope Team.
“Our building science skills are put to particularly good use here, as we’re challenged to truly create structures that work with, rather than against, the environment.”
“Our One Company culture means that in addition to our Edmonton presence, we bring the right expertise to every project with access to our international team,”
says Mohammad Moayyed, our Edmonton office Structural lead. “
At Entuitive, every project and challenge is touched by the right minds to deliver the best solutions. We are very grateful for the opportunities to collaborate with our local clients and celebrate their project successes as a team.”
ALBERTA UNION OF PROVINCIAL EMPLOYEES (AUPE) HEADQUARTERS
One of the great projects we’ve delivered is this award-winning, multi-volume, four-storey modular structure, an outstanding result of unconventional design and new methodology in project delivery. This project was an effort to foster several significant goals, from interpersonal creative collaboration to environmental sustainability. The building makes use of several green materials and mechanical systems, including solar power to reduce its carbon footprint and operating costs.
The irregular asymmetrical form provides an airy and bright, yet efficient, environment for building occupants. Natural light is a major factor in the design, with ample windows and skylights to help bring the outdoors in. Despite the complex form, Entuitive simplified and modularized the structural system to allow significant efficiencies in the use of space and offsite fabrication of the building components. The four-storey-high atrium with large cantilevered floors and floating stairs is a significant feature of the building design.
This project saw a high level of collaboration within the design-build team during the design and construction phases. Advanced technology, such as unified BIM 360 and virtual design construction (VDC), were used for real-time collaboration between consultant and construction teams.
GLENORA PARK MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Entuitive is providing Structural Engineering services on this project, a 23-storey, best-in-class, mixed-use building currently under construction. The building features 290 suites, which offer views of Edmonton’s beautiful river valley, as well as a range of services and luxury amenities for seniors.
As with any mixed-use project, the key challenge is to develop a structural system that can efficiently allow for the multiple uses. For this project, parking, main floor amenities, smaller memory care units, independent living units, a seventh-floor restaurant, and market rental units in the tower were some of the challenges our project team solved.
CITY OF EDMONTON TRANSIT GARAGES REHABILITATION
Entuitive provided the Structural Engineering services on this project to rehabilitate six transit garages for the City of Edmonton. The facilities were built over years as the city expanded. A full condition assessment for each facility was completed to collect the information required for scope definition. Several parameters, such as available funds, operation and maintenance priorities, and lifecycle extension, were considered as well.
The result of this rehabilitation program was the expansion of each facility’s life span. In addition to critical infrastructure upgrades, the goals and objectives for this program were to upgrade the building systems with energy efficient ones to reduce the City of Edmonton’s carbon footprint associated with older facilities and their systems.
LRT STATION PLATFORM RENEWAL
Entuitive is the Structural Engineering Consultant on 10 LRT stations along the Capital and Metro Lines in Edmonton. Following a full condition assessment, Entuitive collaborated with key decision-makers and the client group to develop a rehabilitation priority program for work to begin in the summer of 2019, continuing through 2023.
The renewal of five stations was completed in 2019. Entuitive played an active role in the structural review of the concrete substrate during removal of existing tile and installation of new material, including troubleshooting and clarification of the structural and architectural design intent. The renewal of four stations requiring partial platform replacement is well underway as well with a completion rate of one station each year.
MASTERPIECE OFF WHYTE
The Masterpiece Off Whyte Condominium comprises a three-storey building with a total of 14 units, constructed circa 2011. Repeated issues with moisture ingress and damages associated with failures in the original construction of the building envelope led the condo board to undertake a recladding project. Entuitive was brought on as the Prime Consultant for this project.
CITY OF EDMONTON QUARTERS OCICIWAN CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTIVE
Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective is western Canada’s second Indigenous art gallery. The existing two-storey building has experienced a radical redesign and rehabilitation. Significant design signatures include the modern recladding and interior remodelling suitable for the site. Blending, merging, and reflecting its surroundings, the Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective is a statement piece meant to act in part as a catalyst for future developments in the area.
The existing building structure required substantial upgrades and reinforcing to meet the architectural design ambitions, from the addition of a new elevator to a change in floor occupancy load. Constructability limits were another consideration in our design. The floor load structure was strengthened using a hybrid joist system, which was easy to install while providing the required structural capacity. The roof structure was also reinforced to allow the installation of new mechanical equipment. A new elevator shaft was added in the building, which required a new foundation, reinforcing the existing concrete block walls and a modification of the existing floor framings.
Entuitive is looking forward to delivering more great projects for great clients in and around the city of Edmonton.