The new Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project is located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The Vancouver Convention Centre once complete will total 1.1 million square feet (approximately four city blocks). The building's rooftop will feature a six acre “living roof”, one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Work began on the site October 12, 2004 commencing with the site preparation and civil work packages. Completion is scheduled for 2008.

The newly expanded Convention Centre will serve a pivotal role for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and 2010 Paralympics by housing the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). The IBC will be the media nerve centre for both of the games and will host over 10,000 media representatives from around the world.

The project involves the construction of a viaduct immediately south of the property spanning between Burrard Street and Thurlow Street.

A key element in the construction was building a utilidor to carry mechanical and electrical equipment and conduit across the site.

A custom steel form was purchased to cast all the utilidor segments.

The segments were 6 m long, 3 m high and 3 m wide.

There were 41 utilidor segments with 22-25 cu meters of concrete in each piece, for a total of 1000 cu meters.

The utilidor structure was manufactured in segments and post-tensioned together.

A special concrete mix design was developed for use in salt water. Utilidor segments were cast using self consolidating concrete (SCC) containing + 25% fly ash + 8% silica for protection from exposure to salt water.

Utilidor units were post-tensioned together at the jobsite to make one corridor.

Credits:
Client: Vancouver Convention Center Expansion Project Inc., Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada
Architects: LMN Architects with Prime Architects Downs/Archambault & Partners and Musson Cattel Mackey Partnership
Marine Foundation Engineer: Westmar Consultants Inc.
Construction Manager: PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc.
Precast Concrete: Surespan Structures Ltd.