Special Projects

Highlighted Project: BC Place

BC Place Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium which opened on June 19, 1983. It is currently the home of BC Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the annual Canada Sevens rugby competition, numerous soccer tournaments, and many trade shows and exhibitions. The stadium also served as the main stadium for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Paralympics. Immediately after the completion of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, construction of a retractable roof for the stadium began. Kani was one of the first subcontractors mobilized for the work under PCL Constructors tasked to install a total of 80 seismic anchors to provide support for the four Temporary Tower Bases. These tower bases would support the largest crane tower in all of British Columbia.

For this project, Kani installed 40-foot anchors in both vertical and angled holes. Kani completed the work in only one months’ time, while working both day and night shifts, and was able to fulfill PCL’s tight schedule and timelines.

Overall, this high-profile project generated lots of attention around the world. The process included 4 temporary towers for the construction of the new retractable roof (with the largest cable-supported roof in the world). A new scoreboard (2^nd largest scoreboard in North America) was also installed as part of the stadium upgrades. Kani Foundation Technologies Inc. was honoured to serve as a key subcontractor in the construction and renovations of this world-renowned stadium.

BC Place Photo Gallery

Highlighted Project: 808 West Hastings

808 West Hastings is a 10 story office building located in downtown Vancouver. Kani provided excellent service to complete seismic retrofitting of the building during the renovation and upgrades in 2011-2012. Kani's team applied carbon fibre and glass fibre on columns inside the offices and restaurants, main stairwells, underside of ceiling on certain floors, and inside the elevator core. The 808 West Hastings project was the first office building in Vancouver to receive seismic upgrades and column & wall strengthening by means of this fibre composite system for the entire building.

The following quantities of work was completed for this seismic retrofitting involving carbon and glass fibre systems:

Carbon Fibre: approximately 30,000 ft² installed
Glass Fibre: approximately 20,000 ft² installed
Carbon Fibre Dowels: approximately 250 dowels were installed through columns

The work was done in 2011 and 2012, and was completed after office hours and restaurant opening hours. As this building continued to have occupants utilizing the office space throughout this project, it included the following challenges:

Setup and takedown of access (i.e. ladder and scaffold access), staging areas, and protection covers for all of our working areas. Kani crews had to return the building to its original form on a nightly basis
Coordinating with ground floor restaurants and office occupants to move furniture around so Kani crews could access working areas
Arranging with elevator contractors to allow for night-shift work and also moving the elevator cars to assist with construction
Tight and limited access areas, particularly in the basement
Extensive planning and coordination was required so that the work could be done accurately and so that each shift's work would be maximized

This rare project has served as a pioneer in future fibre composite upgrades projects in Metro Vancouver and has been recognized as a highly successful project in the industry. Throughout this project, Kani provided experienced information and sound engineering advice to the consultants and all parties involved, proving once again that Kani is not only a subcontractor that completes the work with quality, but works alongside consultants to find the most practical, suitable, and cost-effective solutions.