A curtain wall is being hung to create the iconic, energy-
efficient façade of your NCL. Steel in many forms is
making its unique architecture possible. And red cedar is
creating a uniquely natural finish. Plus, three things you
can’t see in the NCL construction. Read on!
Fall/Winter 2016/2017
TRUSSES, PANELS, LEED GOLD, AND OTHER MARVELS OF YOUR NCL
THE NATURE OF WOOD
The curved wood soffit defining the main entry to NCL
will be stunning from the moment the final structural steel
beam is installed. But as beautiful as the archway will be
on opening day, it’s only going to become more beautiful
with the passage of time.
The soffit is made from Western Red Cedar sourced from
British Columbia. It will gradually and naturally morph
from shades of light tan and chocolate brown into warm
tones of weathered grey. The graceful aging is a result
of exposure to environmental conditions like light and
moisture, and allows the wood to develop an elegant life
of its own.
Western Red Cedar, which is naturally decay-resistant,
is especially suitable for exterior wood cladding. All
wood used in the NCL is FSC Certified, meaning that it is
harvested from sustainable, responsibly-managed forests.
Approximately 170 wood panels, ranging in weight from 227-907 kilograms (500 to 2,000 pounds), will clad the chinook-arch-shaped entranceway, making for a very warm and natural welcome to your New Central Library.
The chinook-arch-shaped entranceway under construction
Steel, and lots of it, plays a crucial role in the construction
of Calgary’s New Central Library. Wide open expanses
of space, combined with a lot of heavy books, require
a building material that can span great distances while
supporting massive weight loads. Steel is the best
material for the job.
Five load-bearing steel mega-truss systems form the basis
of the NCL’s structural framework. They allowed for the
library to be built over a tricky existing LRT track in the
first place. “The trusses in the New Central Library helped
bridge over top of the LRT tunnel, which is on a curve and
a slope,” says Ian Washbrook, structural engineer with
Entuitive Engineering Consultants. “What’s interesting is
that the curve of the LRT line – which is actually a series
of curves put together – defined the shape of the building
on one side, and then it was sort of mirrored on the other
side. That gave the library its form.”
The steel mega-trusses also allow for the design of
a spacious and inviting chinook-arch-inspired main
entranceway. The trusses form the main support for the
entry and allow people to pass under a gracefully-curved
wood soffit that’s unencumbered by columns, which
would have cluttered the space.
Steel can be fabricated and erected relatively quickly,
and gigantic structural elements, like steel trusses,
can be transported in pieces and assembled on the
construction site. The recent installation of a 45,000
kilogram (100,000 pound) steel cross-member for the
Truss 4 support system is a perfect example. Measuring
23 metres (75 feet) in length, the enormous steel
cross-member is the single largest truss component
of the entire truss network. The principal element of
the building’s Truss 4 support system, the huge cross-
member is composed of four-inch steel plates that were
bonded together to form one solid piece. A total of 13
such steel cross-members will eventually be positioned
and welded into place to compose the Truss 4 support
system, but the 45,000-kilogram cross-member takes the
heavyweight crown.
The welding of vertical and diagonal cross-members
into the truss system is done at multi-layered steel plates
called nodes. These nodes are enormous. “One node, on
our largest truss, is almost 11 tonnes. The weight of a tank,
basically,” says Washbrook. That is some mighty steel.
BACKBONE OF STEEL
The landscaping will have ramps and stairs, so columns just didn’t make sense in that area. Instead, we used long-span mega trusses, made of structural steel, to achieve this inviting, column-free space.Ian Washbrook, structural engineer with
Entuitive Engineering Consultants
Structural steel and trusses come together
BACKSTAGE AT YOUR NEW CENTRAL LIBRARYLearn these three cool, little-known facts about your NCL.
1. LRT ENCAPSULATION
Even while Calgary’s New Central Library is still under
construction, you can watch LRT trains emerging from
and disappearing into the building, like a rabbit popping
in and out of a magician’s hat (ok, more like rolling in and
out). When the library opens in late 2018, you’ll be able to
do some spectacular train-spotting from the café or from
the children’s library, which both overlook the entry to
the LRT tunnel. What you won’t see is the sleight-of-hand
construction prowess that went into making the magic
happen in the first place.
The encapsulation of the LRT line – which allowed for
NCL to be built on top of a curved and rising train track –
was completed in fall 2015 and is now renowned in
construction circles. So as not to disrupt CTrain service,
the concrete walls enveloping the track were poured
from one side (the side away from the tracks) only. The
installation of the precast concrete roof was completed
in a single weekend – just 43 short hours. In all, the
entire encapsulation process required only nine weekend
shutdowns of the train line in the immediate area, with
not a single unplanned service outage.
2. LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION
In order for a building to achieve LEED certification
(LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design), it must meet a wide range of tough, specific
criteria for green building practices. Calgary’s New Central
Library has gone above and beyond standard criteria,
and has achieved LEED Gold certification, which required
a more stringent commitment to best-in-class practices
before construction even started.
That meant, among other things, being responsible in the
choice of materials used and the source of those materials.
It meant building the NCL in a dense urban setting, close
to public transit. It meant diverting 75% of construction
waste away from landfills.
Part of NCL’s sustainable design considerations involve
tapping into the District Energy plant in East Village for
environmentally-sustainable heating and using radiant
slabs in the concrete. NCL’s plumbing system will use
low-flow fixtures and the toilets will use cistern water
rather than drinking water. The glazed openings in the
glass curtain wall have been kept to a maximum of 40%
of the building’s exterior, limiting excessive heat loads
and reducing the costs of cooling the interior. Even the
patterning of the glass façade was deliberate: specific
areas of the library, like the reading rooms and the
administrative offices, have a higher concentration of
transparent versus opaque glass.
3. CURTAIN WALL DURABILITY TESTS
NCL’s iconic glass curtain wall acts like the skin of the
library. Composed of transparent and fritted glass
and aluminum to form façade panels, it is designed
to hang from the exterior structure of the building in
huge sections. These unique panels were fabricated by
Ferguson Corporation, a Calgary-based manufacturer
specializing in advanced curtain wall and structural glass
building enclosures.
During the fabrication process, two full-scale mock-ups of
the panels were sent to an open-air testing lab in Miami for
some punishing performance tests. To test for durability
and for leaks – and to put components like gaskets and
sealants to the ultimate test – the prototype panels had
water blown at them for several hours and air blasted at
them from an airplane generator.
As a result of the rigorous testing, some minor tweaks
were made to the façade panels. Now they’re not only
beautiful and iconic, but performance-ready for any
conditions that Calgary can throw at them. And we know
it will!
Because the encapsulated LRT forms the foundation of the library, it greatly influenced the very design and structure of the building.
1.1. LRT train emerging from the New Central Library
2. Detail of a panel of the NCL’s exterior glass cladding
Everyone who was involved in Calgary’s NCL was responsible for ensuring LEED Gold certification – from the design team to engineers to contractors to consultants to CMLC. Vanessa Kassabian, project director with
Snøhetta’s New York office
2.
For more information, contact Calgary Municipal Land Corporation at 403.718.0300 or calgarymlc.ca/ncl
RINGSIDE SEAT FOR THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION
From brand new offices on the second and third floors of
the Hillier Block in East Village, the team at the Calgary
Public Library Foundation can watch a bold vision become
a bricks and mortar reality right before their eyes. Just
steps away from the bustling site of the New Central
Library, the foundation’s new offices – which were vacated
when CMLC moved across the street to the historic St.
Louis Hotel – have a bird’s eye view of an ambitious project
that will both enhance Calgary’s landscape and open
a brand new chapter in city history.
While the New Central Library is fully funded by the City
of Calgary and Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, the
foundation’s $350-million Add In Campaign, launched in
September 2013, allows donors to enhance collections,
programs and services across the entire library system.
Since moving into the Hillier Block on October 1 of this
year, the CPL Foundation has been overseeing renovations
of the building’s ground floor to make it more open and
accessible. The Hillier Block will remain the foundation’s
home until the New Central Library opens in late 2018.The foundation’s new home in the Hillier Block (at left) is just steps down 8th Ave. SE from the future NCL
It’s exciting to glance out the office windows and watch Calgary’s New Central Library become a reality. It’s a dream come true for so many Calgarians, one that will help the Calgary Public Library system become the best in the world. Paul McIntyre Royston, president and CEO
of the Calgary Public Library Foundation
Illustration: Mir.