CES Awards

Wardrop Engineering Inc.

Project Description:

The arena, built in 1958, used glued-laminated wood arches with a clear span of 104 feet .
A structural analysis indicated that the arches would not carry unbalanced snow loading now required by National Building Code (NBC) 1995.
The solution was to create a steel-wood composite frame incorporating the existing wood arches.
The result is a simple, practical, cost-effective solution to extending the life of an important community facility, while maintaining functionality, and aesthetics of the original structure.

The Judges´ Comments - Infrastructure Category:

Expanding the useful life of a major municipal facility at a reasonable cost is a project having major impacts for small rural communities.
A required safety inspection leading to the condemnation of such a facility can be the death knell for a town; however, in this case, an innovative, cost effective engineering solution not only extended the life of an aging facility, but maintained the vitality of an active agricultural community hard hit by drought and other economic factors.
This unique solution to an existing arena roof structure problem extended the life of the arena for this community and can be a solution for similar arenas in Western Canada.

The Judges´ Comments - Technology Innovation Category:

This innovative engineering solution was simple, practical, cost-effective and complied with current fire codes and building code requirements for loading, while minimally affecting other aspects of the facility.
The proposed solution met with design criteria and could potentially be adapted to solve similar problems in the future.

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