Overcoming geotechnical and structural design challenges for the Concert Properties Centre for Trades and Technology
April 15 from 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm PDT
BCIT’s new Concert Properties Centre for Trades and Technology will be a state-of-the-art new home for Trades education, engineering, research and industry collaboration.
As well as the building, the project also includes daylighting a section of Guichon Creek that currently runs underneath the campus in a culvert.
These unique site conditions mean that geotechnical and groundwater engineering is a challenging but crucial part of the design and construction.
In this special Living Labs lecture, geotechnical consultants Frontera Geotechnical, structural engineers WSP, and architects Architecture49, will discuss how structural and geotechnical teams collaborated to maximize the efficiency of the structural design, and allow for daylighting of Guichon Creek, while managing the groundwater in a site that borders Guichon Creek.
Topics include how early soil and groundwater investigation guided excavation planning, foundation and drainage design, and planning for the project basement spaces. The team will also look at how the design integrates with the City of Burnaby’s groundwater requirements.
Our presenters:
- Roselle Abanador: Architect, Architecture49
- Mike Indelak: Geotechnical Project Manager, Frontera Geotechnical Inc
- Chris Jacques: Principal, WSP
Roselle Abanador: Roselle Abanador is an Architect AIBC and RHFAC Professional involved in delivering complex, technical, and multi‑phase projects across the transportation, science & technology, healthcare, and industrial sectors.
Her portfolio includes major facilities such as the School of Biomedical Engineering at UBC and TRIUMF’s Institute for Advanced Medical Isotopes. At BCIT’s Concert Properties Centre for Trades & Technology—a major campus gateway project delivered in collaboration with Patkau Architects—Roselle serves as Lab Planner and Project Lead for the Architecture 49 scope, helping shape interdisciplinary, technology‑integrated learning environments.
Mike Indelak: Mike is a senior geotechnical engineer and project manager at Frontera Geotechnical. He has over 15 years of experience in geotechnical engineering consulting on development and infrastructure projects throughout the Lower Mainland and Interior regions of British Columbia. Through his experience he has developed knowledge and skills in several areas of geotechnical consulting engineering including project management, site characterization, foundation design, consolidation settlement analysis, pre-load design and slope stability assessments, and has a particular interest in design of geostructures such as deep excavation shoring and retaining walls.
Chris Jacques: Chris Jacques is a Principal with WSP’s Property and Buildings sector in Vancouver, with over 25 years of structural engineering experience on major high-rise and complex projects in Canada and the United Kingdom. Chris has served as Engineer of Record on a wide range of building types, including high‑rise, cultural, retail, seniors’ care, and backcountry facilities.
Chris is closely involved in the Concert Properties Centre for Trades and Technology project, leading his team in collaboration with architects, geotechnical engineers, and other consultants to address the project’s structural challenges. He is also the Engineer of Record for this project.
Since 2015, Chris has taught the Seismic Design in Structural Steel course through SEABC and has served on the CSA S16 Technical Committee (“Design and Construction of Steel Structures”) since the 2019 edition cycle. He also leads WSP’s Structures timber sector in BC.