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.