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Dr. Ali Golabchi's most recent article, The Unique Opportunity for Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration in the Construction Industry, has been published in the Winter 2024 edition of the Edmonton Construction Association's Breaking Ground Magazine! Ali Golabchi, PhD, PMP, Associate Director, Construction Innovation Centre (CIC) The construction industry is at a crossroads. With challenges like labor shortages, a growing housing crisis, and persistent low productivity becoming more pressing, it's clear that the old ways of doing things aren't cutting it anymore. To keep pace with these demands—and the rapid technological changes that are reshaping the landscape—construction [...]

The University of Alberta's Office of Government and Community Relations hosted a tour of the CIC's labs for Member of Parliament Matt Jeneroux on March 1st, 2024. M.P Jeneroux was shown the CIC's work on exoskeletons for construction workers, virtual reality environments and digital twins, construction robotics applications, the CIC's environmental chamber for material testing, and research involving construction applications for aerial drones. The CIC would like to thank M.P. Jeneroux for his participation in the lab tour, and for expressing his interest in the cutting-edge innovations being carried out by University of Alberta researchers! Subscribe to the CIC's newsletter [...]

The CIC would like to extend its thanks to the visitors and researchers who participated in the tour of the CIC labs on February 2, 2024. The CIC welcomed the Construction Team from the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to take an in-depth look at some of the CIC’s current research projects during the tour. Researchers presented their work on exoskeletons for construction workers, biosensors used to improve safety and productivity on construction sites, virtual reality environments and digital twins, an environmental chamber for material testing, and construction applications for aerial drones. [...]

We would like to thank all of the attendees and researchers that participated in the April 28th CIC Open House event for making it a success! We were very happy to see so many interested and engaged members of our community participating in tours of labs run by researchers at the CIC's Biosensors, Exoskeletons and Robotic Arms lab; the Canadian Centre for Welding and Joining; the Masonry Centre; the Networked Optimization, Diagnosis, and Estimation (NODE) Laboratory; the Smart & Sustainable Manufacturing Systems LABoratory; and the Steel Centre! We look forward to hosting more and better events with even more network [...]

Whether dealing with the harsh cold of winter or the blazing summer heat, all year round we rely on our homes and workplaces to keep us safe and comfortable. Not only does the ability of a building to maintain a comfortable internal temperature important for its occupants’ health, but it’s an important consideration in terms of environmental impact and operating costs! A well-insulated building uses less gas and electricity than one that constantly needs to be warmed up or cooled down. Heat is transferred via conduction, convection, and radiation, and thermal energy will always move from warm areas into cold ones. [...]

“The knowledge of the past becomes the wisdom of the future.”  - John Leder, co-founder of Supreme Steel Supreme Steel began as a small western Canadian steel erector business launched in 1972 by John and Sally Leder. The company grew into the biggest privately held steel fabricator in the 1980s, and has since participated in projects like Seattle’s Ranier Tower, Vancouver’s Port Mann Bridge and Evergreen Line Rapid Transit Stations, Edmonton’s Rogers Arena and the combined office and control tower at the Edmonton International Airport, and the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, among others. In 2020, Supreme Steel refined [...]

The question of how to create more efficient, practical, and structurally sound buildings is one that architects and engineers have sought to answer throughout history. Today, with the aid of automation, Doctors Yuxiang Chen and Carlos Cruz-Noguez at the Construction Innovation Centre are working to find a solution. Although technologies such as automation and innovative materials have begun to be incorporated into building design and construction processes, these advancements often target a single performance aspect, such as energy efficiency or productivity. This project seeks to develop an innovative, lightweight, robot-friendly building block with integrated features that will allow for better movement [...]

HVAC stands for “heating, ventilation, and air conditioning”. HVAC systems can be found everywhere from in single-family homes to offices to submarines! HVAC systems provide better air quality for indoor spaces and remove moisture, smoke, odors, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, carbon dioxide, and other gases as well as providing temperature control and oxygen replenishment. In today’s global landscape, with the COVID-19 pandemic still not wholly behind us, the need for efficient HVAC systems that not only help filter allergens like dust and harmful gases like carbon dioxide out of the air in our workplaces and homes, but that assist in mitigating [...]

Founded by Reza Nasseri in 1977, Landmark Homes strives to be at the forefront of innovation in house construction. The company’s commitment to building Net Zero homes that are affortable and energy efficient has led to it winning multiple awards, including 17 awards from the Canadian Home Builders’ Association in the past five years alone. Landmark Homes works alongside ACQBUILT, North America’s leading state-of-the-art offsite construction facility, to create floor panels, walls, decks and verandas, stairs, roof trusses, and even install windows to ensure meeting the highest standard of accuracy and efficiency during construction. Offsite construction means that Landmark’s building components [...]