Fast + Epp Presentations Spring & Summer 2012:

Video By Naturally:Wood Features Fast + Epp Transportation Projects

Fast + Epp's Managing Associate, Duane Palibroda, was recently featured in the first installment of Naturally:Wood's two-part series regarding the use of wood in large scale and transportation structures

Watch the video

Arena Stage Picks Up American Engineering Award 

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater took home the WoodWORKS! East Region Wood Design Award for Engineering. The announcement was made at WoodWORKS!' Wood Solutions Fairs in Atlanta and Baltimore in February.

The judges' decision celebrates the complexity of the Washington, DC project, which houses a new theatre, rehearsal hall, parking and administrative spaces under a soaring free-span roof. The buildings' timber-backed glass façade, believed to be the tallest in the world, was designed by Fast + Epp engineers to withstand near-hurricane wind loads.

The Brook Wins North Vancouver Design Award

The District of North Vancouver honoured Fast + Epp's contribution to The Brook, an innovative 24-unit residential project completed in collaboration with Array Architecture and Gair Williamson Architect.   A first of its kind for sustainability on the North Shore, the LEED Platinum building won the Excellence in Design Award at the district's Advisory Design Panel Awards in February.   The four-storey concrete and steel structure is hailed as Canada's greenest condominium building.

First Place Finish at SEABC Young Members Group Seminar Competition 

Fast + Epp engineer Nick de Ridder took home top honours at the SEABC Young Members event, "So You Think You Can Give a Seminar" on February 6.

The inaugural competition challenged young engineers, EITs, and students to present a 15-minute seminar on a topic of their choice to a panel of judges and guests at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver.

Nick's seminar — addressing the future of Building Information Modelling — was selected for the $1,000 first prize.

Fast + Epp Engineer Contributes to Haiti Rebuilding Effort 

The design team meets to discuss material, technology and costing options for the École Lakay trade facility project in a suberb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.


Just over two years since a massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, Canadian builders, architects and engineers continue to rebuild from the rubble.

Fast + Epp structural engineer Andrew Chad has been to Haiti twice since then, assisting with the design and construction of a new trade school in one of Port-au-Prince's poorest neighbourhoods. 

"It's pretty devastating," Andrew says, noting there's still a significant amount of homelessness because rebuilding efforts are slow. "All the news articles from the two-year anniversary are bang on."

According to Andrew, the main goal of reconstructing the École Lakay trade building is not only to provide opportunities for under-privileged youth to learn plumbing, HVAC, welding, carpentry, masonry, and tailoring professions — but to change the overall building culture in Haiti. 

The project was spearheaded by the Canadian Construction Association, which recruited Builders Without Borders, a Canadian not-for-profit, non-governmental organization.  MSAADA, a Minneapolis non-profit architectural firm with offices in Haiti, has also been actively involved with the relief efforts.

Hopefully, Andrew says, the school project will educate Haitian construction crews to build using suitable materials and techniques. In many cases, locals are repeating the same unsafe building practices that led to the wreckage of nearly 280,000 residences and commercial buildings, such as weak concrete blocks, smooth reinforcing, and rounded aggregate in concrete.

The École Lakay project is targeting a 2012 completion date. For more information on the rebuilding efforts, visit: http://www.cca-acc.com/en/about-cca/ecole-lakay-project/ecole-lakay-project.

Small Town Bridge Takes Home Big City Award 

Fast + Epp's Bridge of Dreams project won the Institution of Structural Engineers' Award for Small Projects at a ceremony in London, England on November 18th. Located in Princeton, BC, the footbridge restores pedestrian passage over the Tulameen River. The bridge design features finely-crafted, timber-tied arches resting on existing concrete piers that date back to the early 20th century.