The provincial news release says
the program, which is being delivered
over 10 years, will also help manage
congestion, connect people to jobs
and decrease greenhouse gas emis-
sions by reducing car trips and improv-
ing travel times.

Del Duca said in third announce-
ment that the western service exten-
sion will include a new layover facility
in Niagara Falls, more passenger trains
and 30 km. of new tracks. There will
also be a new Confederation GO sta-
tion in east-end Hamilton in 2021.

Ottawa: NCC approves
renovation design for
Government Conference
Centre The National Capital Commission
(NCC) has approved the “new look” for
the Government Conference Centre
which will temporarily house the Sen-
ate once renovations are complete in
two years.

The renovation and Senate move
have a $269 million budget. The Sen-
ate will move to the building in 2018,
as Parliament Hill’s Center Block com-
mences a decade-long renovation.

PCL Constructors Canada Ltd. has
the construction management con-
tract for the project, designed by ERA
Architects. “You’ll finally be able to appreciate
the building in all its glory,” Thierry
Montpetit, project manager with Pub-
lic Services and Procurement Canada
(PSPC), said in an interview reported
by CBC.

“We’re going to remove, what I’m
going to say (were) unfortunate alter-
ations to the building that were done
in the late seventies.”
Montpetit told CBC the goal is to fix
accessibility problems and meet the
current building code, while bringing
the building’s heritage features to the
fore. These include the great waiting
room, designed as a smaller scaled
replica of New York City’s Pennsylva-
nia Station demolished in the 1960s.

There are also functional improve-
ments including new freight and pas-
senger elevators, a loading dock, and
rooftop areas for mechanical systems.

The major project’s major impact is
on the building’s eastern side facing
the Rideau River, Montpetit said. The
current blank wall is that way because
in the earliest days there was a hotel
adjacent to what had been Ottawa’s
main train station in the former Corry
Block. With the renovations, a lot of
thought was given to how that east
façade could turn the building into a
gateway to Parliament, to join “the
town and the Crown,” Montpetit said
in the interview.

“I think that will be our biggest gift,
to really give prominence to that inter-
section,” he said. “And, giving some
stature back to that building, which
was very prominent historically and
has been a bit forgotten and lost since
the 1960s and ‘70s.”
QUEBEC Tall wood building
momentum reaches
Québec The NEB consortium (consisting of
Nordic Structures, EBC Construction
and Synchro Immobilier) have broken
ground in Québec City on the Origine
project, a 13-storey building of which
12-storeys are mass timber and one is
concrete. A news release says it will
be the tallest wood building condo in
North America.

When completed, the 92-unit con-
dominium complex will join the ranks
of the world’s tallest wood buildings
and serve as a Canadian example of
the research and technology that is in-
volved in taking wood construction to
new heights.

“Advances in science and building
technology, supported by renowned
research organizations such as FPIn-
novations and the National Research
Council, are resulting in innovative
wood solutions, such as the Origine
project, that are safe, sound, and sus-
tainable,” Etienne Lalonde, vice presi-
dent Market Development for the
Canadian Wood Council (CWC) said in
a news release.

“Tall wood buildings are no longer a
new concept, with examples of 10 and
14-storey structures recently being
constructed in Australia and Norway
respectively. Ultimately, it is about cre-
ating more options for builders and ar-
chitects in Canada and having the
science and research in place to sup-
port the tall wood option.”
The Origine project was selected as
part of an Expression of Interest (EOI)
that was launched by the CWC in April
2013, for Canadian developers, institu-
tions, organizations and design teams
willing to undertake an innovative ap-
proach to designing and building high-
rise demonstration projects. With
funding support from Natural Re-
sources Canada of $1.175 million, the
goal of this initiative was to link new
scientific advances and research with
technical expertise to showcase the
application, practicality and sustain-
ability of innovative wood based struc-
tural building solutions.

“By supporting innovation and the
use of new techniques in the construc-
tion of wood based high-rise buildings,
we are supporting the growth of a
strong and competitive forestry indus-
try,” said Jim Carr, Canada’s minister of
natural resources. “These investments
in research and development lead to
cleaner, more sustainable construction
practices, all while promoting the cre-
ation of employment opportunities in
the forestry sector. Innovative, entre-
preneurial ideas like these are integral
to our fight against climate change.”
The Canadian Design and Construction Report — September 2016 – 21