SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS
summit award® recipients
the project
achievement award
shawnessy lrt
station project
Awarded to a project demonstrating engineering, geological or geophysical skills and representing a substantial contribution to technical progress and the betterment of society. The Association will give credit to those firms and/or persons assuming key roles in bringing the project to completion.
The Shawnessy LRT Station Project in
Calgary involved the use of a new material
technology in an application that had never
before been attempted. The success of this
project is the result of collaboration among
numerous stakeholders: The City of Calgary;
the Transportation Project Office; CPV Group,
Calgary; Lafarge Precast, Calgary; the
University of Calgary; Speco Engineering,
Calgary; Strudes, Inc., Montreal; and
Kassian Dyck Associates, Calgary.
The challenge for the project team, many of whom are APEGGA members, was to develop a canopy system utilizing 24 uniquely shaped, thin-shelled canopies that were supported on single columns. Instead of using steel, the Shawnessy LRT Station’s canopy system is the first thin-shelled structure in the world constructed from Ductal®, an ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). This system is also the first known use of injection mould-casting techniques for producing structural precast elements in Alberta. A further example of this project’s uniqueness is that it was the first collaboration between industry and the University of Calgary to use the new structural bay test facilities in the recently completed Calgary Centre for Innovative Technology (CCIT) building. At CCIT, the University of Calgary conducted full-scale testing of a single-canopy system under several loading conditions, including snow loading and wind uplift.
The Shawnessy LRT Station Project was completed in the spring of 2004, and the canopies have generated interest across North America, particularly within the architectural community. Several architects have inquired about using UHPC for commuter train platform canopy systems in their cities (Charlotte, NC; Chicago; New York City; Seattle; and Washington, DC) and for other forms of thin-shelled applications such as roofs and architectural features.
Within Alberta, UHPC is being promoted for other applications and will be used on upcoming projects including anchor blocks on retaining wall structures and in wastewater treatment facilities.