OasisLMS

Abstract: The United Bldg. is a landmark project located in the crowded downtown core of Toronto. The 50-storey structure encompasses a city block and incorporates two heritage facades: a nine-storey 1928 Beaux-Arts style structure and a ten-storey 1961 Modern Classical style, both required to be retained in place during construction. Before the inception of this project, a faç ade retention system (FRS) of ten storeys was unprecedented in the industry. This led to the development of a sophisticated hybrid support system which integrated the FRS with the support of excavation (SOE) for five parking levels to meet the project's complex requirements. The preservation of the historic faç ades combined with the intricacies of urban construction near sensitive infrastructure, presented significant challenges throughout various stages of the project. This included: controlled demolition of the interior structure while preserving the faç ade, subsequent installation of secant piles, king piles, and micropiles for both the SOE and FRS, the FRS steel installation and transferring the existing structure’ s load onto the newly installed piles, and finally, laterally supporting five levels of excavation while navigating the complexities of working around and beneath the FRS. This paper will provide details of the construction of North America’ s largest faç ade retention system and its successful incorporation into the support of excavation.

Mr. Mark Reinders; Mr. Thomas Fiala

Annual Conference Proceedings