University of Victoria Student Housing & Dining Project - Building 1
CAST CONNEX designed, engineered, and supplied custom-designed steel castings that facilitate the nodal connection between the timber columns and the steel branches.
The University of Victoria Student Housing and Dining Project is a mixed-used facility designed and built to address the growing demands of on-campus housing, and the campus’ commitment to enhance the student experience with more socially-connected and walkable spaces. The project targets LEED Gold and will be the university’s first building with passive house certification. It achieves new sustainability goals and leverages innovative engineering solutions.
Owner: University of Victoria
Architect: Perkins & Will
Structural Engineer: Fast+Epp
Steel Fabricator: George Third & Son ltd.
Timber Supplier: Kalesnikoff
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In addition to conference, academic and common spaces, and over 750 new beds for residences, the facility includes a new 600-seat dining hall. The dining hall's mass timber roof is supported by timber tree columns with fabricated steel branches and custom-designed cast steel nodal components.
For each node, a pair of custom castings was crafted to seamlessly fit together. The lower casting accommodates a nut-fastened connection to the column, which disappears from sight when the upper casting fits over top. Two steel fabricated branches were welded to each casting in the shop, transported flat to the site, and when assembled, formed the 4-branched tree structure.
Reimagining the nodes as a pair of castings was a creative engineering solution that simplified the fabrication, transportation, and installation of the trees while supporting the architectural intent of the space.
Design-Built Structural Solution
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