Geotechnique in Calgary - A 60-year retrospective

Heinrich K. Heinz, Mauricio Pinheiro, Tai T. Wong

In the proceedings of: GeoRegina 2014: 67th Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: Soil Mechanics

ABSTRACT: This paper describes heritage and foundation engineering aspects of the development of geotechnique in Calgary. It focuses on the post-1953 era, after Calgary's first geotechnical consulting firm was established, and on the development of the downtown core, where most of the high-rise buildings are located. Highlights include a short history of the Calgary Geotechnical Society, and a brief overview of the development in the city's downtown core including subsurface conditions, the types of foundations used, and some of the lessons learned. RÉSUMÉ Ce document décrit les aspects du patrimoine et du génie des fondations dans le cadre du développement géotechnique à Calgary. Il se concentre sur l'ère post-1953, après que la première firme de génie-conseil en géotechnique ait été établie, ainsi que sur le développement du centre-ville, où la plupart des grands édifices sont situés. Les faits saillants comprennent une courte histoire sur la société géotechnique de Calgary, ainsi qu'un bref aperçu du développement du centre-ville, incluant les conditions du sous-sol, les types de fondations utilisées et quelques-unes des leçons apprises. 1 INTRODUCTION The authors have long believed that connecting with our heritage fosters a sense of identity and pride. Also, as members of a profession that relies heavily on empiricism, we are well aware of the importance of re-examining past projects and learning from our experiences. Furthermore, as ably summarized by Petroski (2001), we believe that the degree to which our profession's history is known, remembered, preserved, and honoured influences how we are acknowledged and respected outside of the confines of our practice. As anyone who tries to summarize the history of a place or a group knows, the task is both wide and deep, and discovering the full story is difficult. Each new finding generates new questions. In the end, leaving gaps and neglecting contributions is unavoidable. While the title of this paper may suggest completeness, in fact, we present it as an introduction to the topic, and hope that others will continue writing where we left off, filling in some of the gaps. We also apologize for any omissions or inaccuracies. 2 HERITAGE 2.1 Origins The city of Calgary had its origins in tiny Fort Brisebois, a police outpost constructed by the North-West Mounted Police in 1875. It was renamed Fort Calgary in 1876. The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1883 was a key factor in the growth of Calgary as an urban centre. Although it was incorporated as a town in 1884, and as a city in 1894, it appears that no major buildings were constructed until the early 1900s, during one of the city's many economic booms. An important building constructed during that time that remains in use today is the Palliser Hotel (currently known as the Fairmont Palliser). It was designed by Architect Lawrence Gotch (of E. and W.S. Maxwell of Montreal), and constructed for the CPR between 1911 and 1914 by the Peter Lyall and Sons Construction Company, also of Montreal. The original hotel was 12 storeys, with an additional three floors and a penthouse added in 1929 (Bobrovitz, 1998). It stood as Calgary's tallest building until 1958 (wikipedia.org). Like many other historic buildings constructed in what is now downtown Calgary, the Palliser Hotel was built on footings and likely without the benefit of any formal geotechnical input. 2.2 The Modern Era The birth of modern geotechnique in Calgary Œ as in the rest of Alberta Œ is closely associated with Dr. R.M. (Bob) Hardy (1906-1985). Hardy graduated in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1929, and later completed a Master's degree in structural engineering at McGill University. He joined the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta as a sessional lecturer in 1930, and became an associate professor in 1937. Hardy took a sabbatical in 1939-1940 to pursue post-graduate studies in soil mechanics at Harvard University under Arthur Casagrande, after which he returned to the University of Alberta. In 1946, he was appointed chair of the Department of Civil Engineering, and dean of the Faculty of Engineering (Leonoff, 1994; Harris, 1997). For Hardy, the line between the academic and consulting worlds was a thin one. Although he was based in Edmonton, he was involved in a considerable amount of work in southern Alberta dating back to the 1940s, especially highway and airport construction incidental to

RÉSUMÉ: chnique in Calgary Œ A 60-year retrospective

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Cite this article:
Heinrich K. Heinz; Mauricio Pinheiro; Tai T. Wong (2014) Geotechnique in Calgary - A 60-year retrospective in GEO2014. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{GeoRegina14Paper459,author = Heinrich K. Heinz; Mauricio Pinheiro; Tai T. Wong,title = Geotechnique in Calgary - A 60-year retrospective,year = 2014}