Habitat Apron Cooked Up To Mitigate Impact on Marine Life
The foundation engineer calls the $8.2-million artificial reef—the marine habitat apron—the most unusual element of the Vancouver convention center expansion project. “I know of nothing else like it, anywhere,” says Ryan MacPherson, project engineer for WorleyParsons Westmar Consulting Engineers, North Vancouver. “It’s very successful.” Marine life is already growing.
The 400-meter-long apron resembles long stadium bleachers, consisting of 86 bays of precast concrete construction. Each bay is 3.5 m long. Precast “risers” have a sawtooth profile to accept five rows of precast flat-slab benches.