Management and Construction

Challenges

• Build in the heart of Montreal’s business district.
• Minimize impact on the underground highway below.
• Coordinate work with public services and neighbouring buildings.

Prizes and Awards

• 2004 Award of Excellence in Steel Construction awarded by the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC).

Challenges

• Maintain airport operations during the construction work.
• Provide total management of the construction and installation of process equipment.

Prizes and Awards

• 2009 City of Quebec Architecture Awards, "People’s Choice" category, awarded by the City of Quebec.
• 2008 Award of Excellence in Steel Construction awarded by the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction.

• Laying thousands of metres of pipes
• Removing more than 70,000 tonnes of soil
• Installing more than 38,000 sq. ft. of granite at different angles
• Building a large, two-story underground mechanical room

Challenges

• Complete the project within 15 months.
• Work in fast-track mode in a high-traffic area of downtown Montreal.
• Accommodate the Montreal International Jazz Festival and Francofolies Festival, which coincided with the end of the construction work.
• Demolish power and telephone pedestals without interrupting service.

Challenges

• Integrate several major considerations, including high seismic risk, stringent security issues, prayer rooms set on seismic isolators, access for high volumes of traffic at peak hours as well as the durability of the materials, height of the building and a design that fuses modernity and authenticity.

Challenges

• Erect the building within a restricted space located in a high-traffic area, while respecting the established 14-month project schedule.
• Construct a 5-storey underground parkade with a Berlinese retaining wall.
• Integrate a ventilation/air conditioning system with distribution through the access flooring.

Challenges

• Erect the building within a restricted space in a high-traffic area, while respecting the established 14-month project schedule.
• Construct a 5-storey underground parkade with a Berlinese retaining wall.
• Integrate a ventilation/air conditioning system with distribution through the access flooring.

Challenges

• Work with Dominican authorities to develop specifications for the impact study in light of a recently enacted environmental law.
• Introduce different uses of water into rural communities.

Challenges

• Carry out the construction in a confined space over a metro station and in a high-traffic area.
• Build two pedestrian tunnels requiring the use of support structures.

Challenges

• Ensure that traffic is not interrupted during the works.
• Coordinate a large number of participants and engineering disciplines.
• Carry out the project in fast-track mode to accommodate the scheduled construction of the Canadian War Museum.
• Provide environmental follow-up with different levels of government.

Challenges

• Fast-track project.
• Integrate all medical equipment provided by the hospital during the construction.
• Make several changes to adapt the building’s electrical-mechanical infrastructure to the new medical equipment.

Dessau helped expand and modernize Montreal’s international airport, increasing the airport’s capacity and improving passenger services. The project included the construction of a new international terminal, US departures area, a hotel and a three-story parkade. Dessau also helped plan the reconfiguration of the road that links the airport to the new Dorval interchange.

Within the scope of this project, Dessau offered its expertise in the following areas: transportation and infrastructure, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, construction (Verreault) and geotechnical engineering (materials analysis and control).

This tremendous undertaking, which took 5 years to complete, required more than 5,275 metric tonnes of reinforced steel and 1.6 million cu. ft. of concrete, nearly 330 piles and 16 caissons. In addition, prefabricated cement concrete structural elements had to be manufactured and installed. The total construction area covered approximately 2 million sq. ft. Finally, the existing tarmac had to be demolished and rebuilt.

Dessau’s geotechnical engineering specialists were called in as consultants at the manufacturing and construction sites. They verified the structural steel, watertightness of the foundations, the underground parking flagstone, the elevated drop-off lane and the entire roofing works.

Our mechanical and electrical experts managed to design the building to consume 30% less energy than a conventional building. Thanks to their efforts, this building not only produces 1,160 fewer tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, it also meets stringent quality and security standards. This fast-track project stands out due to its scope, complexity and incorporation of sustainable development principles.

Dessau’s transportation and infrastructure teams were responsible for designing and supervising the tarmac and parkade reconstruction, as well as reconfiguring the road network (including drainage) and phasing the road works.

Challenges

• Ensure that the airport remains functional during the construction work.
• Coordinate a set of multidisciplinary teams working on the project while respecting tight deadlines.
• Respect the airport’s safety and security standards.

Prizes and Awards

• Armatura Grand Prize of the Decade, Institutional category, awarded by the Quebec Reinforced Steel Institute (IAAQ) in 2010.
• 2004 Award of Excellence for Steel Construction, Commercial/Institutional category, awarded by the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC).