2020 CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEERING AWARDS
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Photo by Robert Stefanowicz
BUILDINGS
GNW Pavilion
Modelling the vision Lululemon founder Chip Wilson tasked the architects at Perkins + Will with designing the concept for the pavilion, which serves as a gathering place with a coffee shop inside. The red flower-shaped design was selected to stand out in the transformation of an industrial neighbourhood. RJC was brought on board to explore alternative options to solid mass timber, which had proven impractical for the project. Given the unique shape of the sculpture, the team decided to incorporate a curved wooden dome structure, supported on five inner petals, constructed of curved glulam members, that carry
Photo by Robert Stefanowicz
The GNW Pavilion is an artistic sculpture, shaped to form an upsidedown Japanese lotus flower, built adjacent to the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and PCI Developments’ new office building in Vancouver. As structural engineering consultants, the team at RJC Engineers used digital modelling to help develop a hybrid timber-steel structure to support the pavilion’s complex shape.
the gravity and lateral loads. The wooden shell for the lower portion of the roof would provide an efficient structure for gravity loads. The five outer curled petals then became secondary, constructed from engineered wood and supported on the lower dome and petals. Seven glazing columns support the hybrid timber-steel dome.
RJC Engineers “It’s a beautiful structure that opens dialogue with the public domain; very appropriate for an art and design school.” –Jury
October/November 2020
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