Engaged early in the design process, PICCO Engineering's stone engineering staff supported the design team in sourcing the right stone and designing interior scope items, including the alabaster exhibit ramps and the basalt columns in the Garden of Contemplation. We then provided a fully-integrated service—everything from shop drawings, engineering, shop tickets, mock-ups, calculations, project management, and BIM modelling services, staying with the project right through to the construction phase.

There were four applications of stone on this project. The most visible is the alabaster on the ramps on the interior of the project:
 

• Exterior/Interior Walls: Tindal Stone–Split face

• Garden Columns/Floor: Basalt–Natural rock face/Flamed

• Ramps: Alabaster–Honed

• Interior Walls: Basalt–Flamed

​

We made the trip to Spain to meet the supplier to review and better understand the material, the fabricator’s capabilities, and establish quality control parameters. The architects were seeking the whitest alabaster and intended on eliminating the grey variations characteristic of some samples.

Once PICCO evaluated testing results to confirm the stone strength was adequate, an anchoring system was designed so the connections would not cast a shadow through the stone. Several mock-ups were tested with various types of lighting and angles to determine its feasibility. The CMHR is one of Canada’s first large projects of extreme complexity relying on interdisciplinary co-operation and construction to successfully achieve use of virtual models for real-time collaboration and interaction. There were as many as 40 companies located in eight cities in North America and Europe. The CMHR has become a source of pride and much more. It is also a glowing example of “what is possible” when passion, hard work, and innovation combine to grow the knowledge and experience of an industry.