Stephen Brown
Principal, Entuitive
David Fox
Principal, Entuitive
Entuitive’s work begins with design and continues through construction, maintenance, and renewal. We work with contractors and owners to ensure the best balance of constructability, cost, and performance requirements. By integrating temporary works into permanent structure design, a host of efficiencies can be unlocked that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.
Integrating construction engineering with permanent structure design exemplifies our philosophy of continuously seeking to provide additional value to our clients. By integrating the temporary works into the permanent structure, we can find efficiencies in the lengthy construction process, eliminate the need to do things twice, reduce materials, and ensure the design is constructible.
The value in integrating construction engineering with permanent structure design
Depending on the delivery model, such as design-build or public-private partnership, it’s often possible to integrate temporary works into permanent structure design, thereby saving time and money and creating a safer construction sequence. By engaging our team early in the project process, contractors and owners gain the benefit of having their construction sequence accommodated in the structural design. When we know how contractors intend to construct a structure, we can collaborate with them to identify opportunities for efficiencies that will enable them to complete their work on time and on budget. We don’t believe in “setting it and forgetting it.” We work with contractors throughout the process, collaborating with them every step of the way, asking questions, and listening to the answers.
We don’t believe in ‘setting it and forgetting it’. We work with contractors throughout the process, collaborating with them every step of the way, asking questions, and listening to the answers.
What does this approach look like?
An example would be designing a base structure to account for temporary loading, such as construction traffic or equipment. By understanding how the contractor is going to complete their work, we can build that capacity into the base design, eliminating the need for and cost of temporarily shoring the slab if that’s the cost-effective option. Similarly, if we know that the contractor is going to use a tower crane or material hoist restraint, we can design space in the base build to accommodate this connection, ultimately saving time and money. Both Calgary’s New Central Library and Platform Innovation Centre and Parkade, for example, were constructed directly overtop an active light rail transit line. The design of the building required an innovative sequence of construction considerations to enable the installation of very heavy long-span structural elements across the corridor. Both projects had their unique challenges, but one thing in common was the constructability sequencing and temporary bracing elements that were incorporated in the building design. Other examples of this work include New York’s Manhattan West Platform and the Finch LRT in Toronto. If you’re interested in learning more about our projects, or how Entuitive can support contractors, reach out to Stephen Brown or David Fox.
