Construction progressing smoothly on engineering building

Mark Beaulieu has worked on countless construction projects in his lengthy career, but has rarely seen one come together as smoothly as the university’s $112 million Centre for Engineering Innovation.

“It’s been quite gratifying to see a project of this magnitude to move at the pace it’s moved,” said Beaulieu, owner of JP Thomson Architects Ltd., the architectural and engineering firm hired by the university to oversee the project . “We have a complement of people from our prime consultants to our general contractors to the sub-trades they’ve hired, and everybody is just really meshing well together.”

Ground was broken on the project in January of 2010 and the first phase, which will consist mainly of lab space, will be ready for researchers to begin moving in within four to six weeks. To date, more than 9,300 cubic metres of concrete have been poured and about 500,000 feet of power cable have been laid.

“Everything has gone pretty much according to plan,” said Matt Soulliere, the project manager for PCR Contractors Inc., the firm hired to oversee construction of the 300,000 square foot facility. “The winter was a little tougher than what we’re used to in the Windsor area, but we’ve persevered. Phase one is really coming along well and we’ll be ready to occupy and start moving equipment over in the spring.”

Construction continues on the second phase, set to open in the fall of 2012. That portion will consist of the industrial courtyard, faculty and administration offices, class rooms, a main lecture hall that can seat 350 students, a divided oval-shaped lecture hall the crew refers to as "the egg" and a strong room for destructive testing that Soulliere says is like the Cadillac of strong rooms.

"The second phase is a little more complicated just because of all the multiple levels in the building," Soulliere said.

Having overseen the construction of the new environmentally-friendly David Suzuki Public School, this is the second LEED-designated building Soulliere has worked on. Besides its bio-wall, he said the CEI’s green roof, which will include benches, patio stones, walkways and plenty of vegetation trays, shrubs and trees, will be one of its most visible and aesthetically pleasing features.

 “It’s going to be a really beautiful space,” said Soulliere, a UWindsor graduate who added that while the project has been a challenge, he’s proud to be back on campus working on a project for his alma mater.