The Arbour: An Innovative Composite Floor System
Publication: Structures Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
The $130M Arbour, a 10-storey, 16,000 m2, exposed tall wood structure located on George Brown College’s waterfront campus in Toronto, Canada, will serve as an educational hub for the college, housing the Tall Wood Research Institute, a childcare center, and teaching and social spaces. The innovative large-span beamless structural floor system is comprised of cross-laminated timber (CLT) concrete composite slab bands with perpendicular CLT infill panels, all supported on glulam columns. This long-span flat plate system allows for flexibility in architectural programming and unobstructed mechanical distribution; its performance was validated by full-scale laboratory tests. The project, currently under construction, received external funding through the National Resources Canada Green Constriction Wood Program, alongside other partners, to facilitate mass timber innovation specific to this project. This catalyzed a full-scale structural testing regime at the University of Northern British Columbia, investigating timber concrete composite “slab bands,” to determine their performance and develop a low-cost composite connector.
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Structures Congress 2022
Pages: 251 - 259
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Published online: Apr 18, 2022
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