This bi-annual event held in Calgary, AB on February 26-27, 2016 brought together 35 academics teaching steel design to undergraduate students in faculties of engineering and architecture at universities across Canada, thanks to the generous travel support from local CISC Regional Committees and individual CISC Members. New participants included Laurentian University, which now has a School of Architecture, and the University of Victoria, which is offering a program in Civil Engineering.
Guest speakers updated the educators on Integrated Project Delivery, modularization (owner, manufacturer, industrial and research) and bringing BIM into the classroom.
Breakout sessions on the second day allowed the Architecture Educators to discuss the implementation of CISC scholarships, competitions and lecturer programs, and to exchange ideas about teaching and research related activities happening at other universities.
The Engineering Educators were updated by their peers on research projects recently funded by CISC. Great work is being done in the areas of seismic force resisting systems, fire engineering, HSS connections, modularized floor systems and new design guidance for WWF. In addition the structure and history of the CISC Steel Centre at the University of Alberta was presented for possible adoption or adaption in other Regions. The final segment was on steel bridge competitions and the group heard from the University of Waterloo on how to start a student bridge team and CISC about the new CSCE-CISC CNSBC.
The site/shop/building tours are always well received and Calgary offered up a grand selection of steel structures to visit and marvel at. Firstly, the tour of Brookfield Place on Friday afternoon thanks to Walters who are in the midst of erecting steel above the 40th floor level. The Educators learned firsthand about composite floor trusses, how steel structures go together, how services are integrated and fire protection applied, how the steel is delivered and lifted, how it is connected to the concrete core, and the relative sizes and weights of components. All of this will help them bring their steel design courses to life.
On Saturday afternoon, the group visited the Peace Bridge and St. Patrick’s Island pedestrian bridges with guides from the design firms, and toured the National Music Centre, a nearly completed steel-framed building with iconic steel staircases and a +15 pedestrian bridge. The NMC is scheduled to open for the JUNO Awards so many thanks to CANA and Walters for fitting us in.
