How to Save 4 Months on a Schedule? PCL Builds the 70-Story Stantec Tower Using SmartRockTM
With its 66 stories above and 4 underground, at 823 ft (250.8 m) Stantec Tower in the Ice-District in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, is the tallest building in Western Canada and one of the largest mixed-use projects in Canada. The site includes a second tower, the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District, and The Legends Private Residences, which is “only” 56-stories high and features more than 25,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. The high-rises were constructed between April 2014 and August 2019. In September 2020, the project was awarded the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Magazine 2020 Best Project Award in the Retail/Mixed-Use Development category.
“The project started with the 4-story underground parkade. Its construction was to be a test case for the SmartRock value proposition,” says Myke Badry, Operations Manager, PCL Construction. If successful, SmartRock was to be used for optimizing concrete testing during construction of the above-ground 66 stories of the building. Consulting engineers were also onboard with this plan.
“SmartRock Delivered!”
Some of the benefits expected for SmartRock to produce were to allow for savings on purchasing a smaller amount of formwork. “SmartRock delivered! It saved time, ½ a day per cycle of pouring for the four floors of the parkade. It also brought about savings from purchasing less formwork. Most importantly, it provided confidence that the formwork can be stripped on a particular schedule, without worries,” says Badry.
The wireless concrete sensors also got a buy-in from an experienced structural engineer who confirmed that SmartRock is as reliable as field-cured break tests. SmartRock uses the maturity method to test the early-age strength of concrete, replacing the need for time-consuming and labor-intensive field-cured breaks.
Remarkable Time-Savings with SmartRock
The construction of the Stantec Tower struck a good rhythm when building the above ground levels and generated even more remarkable results. When square footage per floor changed from 25,000 square feet to 14,000 and concrete placement could be poured in 1 section, the team got each section down to a consistent 4-day schedule. Why? “Because SmartRock readings were so accurate and to the minute. As a result, we were able to build the towers 4 months ahead of schedule!” beams Badry.
