At an altitude of 816 meters, Le Massif de Charlevoix dominates the landscape in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. A famous vacation resort brand chose to build its first Canadian location east of the Rockies in this spectacular setting: Club Med Québec Charlevoix.
General contractor L’Intendant, commissioned by Groupe Le Massif and Club Med, chose Béton Provincial to provide the concrete for the infrastructure. The prestigious Club Med Québec Charlevoix project required 20,000 mᶟ of that indispensable material. The project was a very significant undertaking in the area.
Le Massif, and the entire Charlevoix region, is located at the heart of the Canadian Shield, a rugged landscape of mountain peaks, deep valleys and winding roads. Club Med Québec Charlevoix, which will be renting the complex, instructed Béton Provincial to provide the highest technical, economic and environmental performance possible for the project. The complex needed to blend in with Le Massif’s unique natural setting. It also had to meet the expectations of local communities and guests, who have become more and more concerned about the environment and their ecological footprint, and care about saving resources and energy. Béton Provincial and Le Groupe du Massif Charlevoix share these values.
Construction was carried out in accordance with the BREEAM standard, which originated in the United Kingdom. This European model, founded over 30 years ago, provides a system for assessing and certifying environmental performance in buildings. 23 countries now use it as a reference, and over 500,000 buildings have been certified. Organizing the work site required a great deal of logistics planning, since the equivalent of 20,000 mᶟ of concrete needed to be transported, and up a mountain, no less.
Because the work site was situated at a considerable distance from the company’s concrete plants and the winding road used to access the site, the BPL team decided to construct a concrete factory on location, at the work site, in the construction area itself. “This kind of flexibility is one of Béton Provincial’s greatest strengths,” states the regional manager of the Charlevoix sector, Serge Perron.
The lodge was constructed at the base of the mountain. It features three buildings with an open view of the river, connected by walkways. The main building has seven floors, five of which are concrete. The two top floors are steel, with concrete floor slabs on steel decking. To build the infrastructure, two 65-meter tower cranes were used for the formwork and frames. “It’s huge,” says Perron. The entire setup of the work site was done with pump trucks, directly from concrete mixers.
The project was begun in February 2019, but progress was slowed by several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction ended up taking nearly two years to complete, and work continued through the winter months.
The project required us to obtain a uniform concrete that met the strict requirements of our client, L’Intendant. We chose to use concrete that contained a high volume of structural reinforcement fibre for the floor slabs, to prevent cracks.
Another significant challenge was the shortage of workers, a situation faced by the vast majority of companies in Québec. “On large-scale projects, there are always so many tasks to perform during concrete pours,” explains Perron. “We implemented very strict time management practices to enable our employees, who are highly qualified, to continue meeting the needs of our other clients with no interruptions.”
BREEAM standard regulations are rigorous. During work on the project, we logged over 2,600 truck trips. We also kept track of the amount of fuel used for every single trip, from raw materials to concrete, from the factory to the work site. Every water source on the mountain had to be monitored, including rainwater, snowmelt and soil, as well as sedimentation (for example, very fine sand that may be carried by water or thaws). In addition, a membrane was used to protect the sand piles and avoid contaminating the natural environment. The BREEAM program also requires that the environmental footprint of the additives and of each product be tracked. “All of these elements helped us significantly reduce our ecological footprint,” states Perron.
In October 2020, the region’s Béton Provincial team dismantled the portable factory. The environmental challenges agreed upon by the partnership of general contractor L’Intendant, Groupe Le Massif and Club Med Québec Charlevoix had been met successfully. According to Perron, the true challenges were more administrative than operational. “Our personnel did extraordinary work. The concrete mixer operator was a key player in the process. His contributions had a direct effect on product quality. We also enjoyed a remarkable collaborative experience with the technicians in the factory at Saguenay. They did an impeccable job with quality control. I’m so proud of our teams,” he adds, smiling.
This ambitious, 120 million dollar, four-season recreational tourism project highlights the amazing natural legacy of the mountain, the breathtaking view of the river and the region’s agricultural prosperity. Visitors can enjoy a luxurious modern complex that meets the strictest environmental standards starting in December 2021. A tip for skiing enthusiasts: Make your reservations now!
“ Béton Provincial’s team spirit and expertise contributed to the successful construction of Club Med Québec Charlevoix.
Setting up the factory nearby was almost certainly a key element of the project, and a contributing factor in Béton Provincial’s ability to adapt the pours to meet the specific limitations that came with the project and this region.”
Claudio Volpato, President of L’Intendant, Project Manager and Coordinator
Béton Provincial performed a major pouring of concrete for the foundations of the new building of the Enfant-Jesus Hospital in Quebec City.
This major pour is the largest ever carried out in Quebec City, with 3,600m3 of concrete delivered continuously over a 24-hour period.
Products used:
WE DREAMED ABOUT IT, WE WANTED IT, WE WAITED FOR IT. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW IKEA STORE IN QUEBEC CITY MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAPPY. BEFORE THE DOORS WERE OPENED TO VISITORS, HOWEVER, SEVERAL STEPS HAD TO BE TAKEN.
AMONG THEM, THE INSTALLATION OF A CONCRETE FLOOR COVERING THE SURFACE AREA OF THE STORE AND WAREHOUSE, ESTIMATED TO 32,000 m2.
It’s from the general contractor Pomerleau that Béton Provincial obtained its mandate: to produce and deliver 8,000 m3 of concrete to the site, of which 4,000 m3 was for the floor only. Fans of the Swedish giant know that visitors are generally guided from one section of the store to another by a route of arrows on the ground. “When you enter IKEA,” comments Michel Verret of Béton Provincial,” you walk directly on the concrete, there is no ground covering as such, it is an apparent concrete.” “And customers often have their eyes on the ground,” adds his colleague Philippe Simard, referring to the famous guided tour.
WINNING CONDITIONS
In fact, the quality and performance of concrete were of extreme importance to IKEA Canada. The activities carried out and the machinery used in the warehouse require high strength and durability. “The project engineers had specified… that they wanted concrete with a strength of 25
MPa for the foundations as well as for the mezzanine slab and 30 MPa for the floor slabs,” says Michel Verret.
The retailer had even asked contractors interested in participating in the project as concrete suppliers to qualify before being allowed to submit their bids. “IKEA ensures that the contractors who are going to bid have the required skills and have already done similar projects,” says Michel Verret. Moreover, “the concrete had to be malleable enough for the placement to be done without any problems,” adds Philippe Simard. In addition to qualifying in advance, Béton Provincial had to be able to deliver a product with a superior quality finish that fully met Pomerleau and IKEA’s expectations.
In fact, since no saw cut was provided at this location, the concrete mixture designed for the mezzanine contained a shrinkage reducing agent to reduce the cracking potential due to the shrinkage of the concrete during hardening. For the slab on the ground, 25 kg of steel fiber per cubic meter was incorporated into the concrete. This was the choice made by IKEA and the project engineers for the floor-to-floor slab. “Steel fiber replaces reinforcement and solidifies the concrete mixture for better crack control during commissioning. Despite the presence of fibers, the concrete had to be malleable enough for the placement to be done without any problems,” explains Philippe Simard. And with each delivery to the site, the concrete was tested by technicians who ensured the conformity of the product. It was only after this check that Béton Provincial was authorized to unload the concrete mixer for the final pouring of the concrete.
Undoubtedly, the major challenge of this project for Béton Provincial was to succeed in delivering concrete that fully met the requirements of the experts and the specifications of the quotation for the concrete slabs in the floor. And they had to accomplish this from August 2017 to mid-February 2018, whatever the temperature. “We were able to demonstrate, once again, that with our people here internally, we are able to meet challenges of this kind and deliver excellent concrete quality,” says Michel Verret.
The stability of the mixture was the secret of this success. The fact that Béton Provincial adjusted the concrete at the plant by incorporating fiber and superplasticizer during production allowed the concrete mixers to arrive at the site with the desired slump, and this stability allowed the paver to deliver a product that exceeded IKEA Canada’s expectations.
Teamwork above all
Such success cannot be achieved without tremendous teamwork. Preparatory meetings were held between the various project stakeholders. Michel Verret recounts: “We had meetings from the beginning of the project, with the people from Pomerleau, the people from the EXP Laboratory responsible for the quality control of the concrete delivered to the site, Stantec the engineering firm, Betoxy, a specialist in concrete placement and finishing, as well as with the people from IKEA coming from Toronto. It was important for all these stakeholders to sit together to fully understand the owner’s requirements. As mentioned by Mr. Sébastien Morneau, Project Superintendent at Pomerleau: “For IKEA Canada, the quality of finish of concrete slabs is as important as the apple of their eye!”. This allowed everyone to adjust and give their ideas on how best to deliver a quality finished product. “Competence had to be matched by professionalism. On this subject, a special mention was obtained concerning the quality of the flatness of the slab, confirming that it is practically perfect at its full length.
Located in the Sainte-Foy sector, at the crossroads of highways 40 and 540, IKEA’s new warehouse store will probably attract customers from as far away as Saguenay-Lac—Saint-Jean and Bas-Saint-Laurent, in addition to those from the National Capital. That’s how many pairs of eyes will land on the floor signed Béton-Provincial…the line was long at the opening to see a perfect concrete!
The new Radio-Canada Broadcasting House was designed to be an attractive technological, cultural and community center.
The proposal of Broccolini group of Montreal was selected for this project in 2016, and it was to Béton Provincial that the contractor awarded the concrete supply contract for the three buildings. “Our challenge was twofold: to satisfy our client, Broccolini and to satisfy the prime contractor, Radio-Canada. But in the end, we were thinking of all Quebeckers. Like us, they will benefit from the exceptional quality of the productions offered by this institution,” explains Sylvain Veronneau, General Manager of Béton Provincial for the Montreal region.
The requirements of fast-track
“A fast-track concrete project has excessively high stakes ”, says Stefano Macri, a technical sales representative at Béton Provincial. ”Once we knew we were getting the contract, we didn’t have time to waste, we had to quickly put our shoulders to the wheel and get started ”.
An acoustic slab of exceptional flatness
Of course, when we talk about “ TV or radio production”, we think of “ technical requirements ”. In addition to meeting the highest environmental and sustainable development standards, the new complex had to meet sophisticated needs, particularly in terms of flat surfaces for camera movement.
Mike Ductan, Technical Director for the Montreal region, was in charge of the “ concrete quality ” dimension of this mandate. “ The layout of the various studios and spaces required the design of a structural and acoustic floor slab with an exceptional level of flatness. So, there was no reason to make saw cuts. The challenge was great, especially since the columns were much more spaced than normal, also because of the television production needs ”, he explains. The slabs were supported, i.e. placed on anti-vibration support elements.
Recognized expertise in all-season concreting
In addition, the project began during the 2017 summer heatwave and was to be completed in the fall of 2018. “Our expertise is recognized in the industry for our flagship value-added products: Cool-Mix, our hot weather concreting solution, and Accel-Mix, our cold-weather concreting solution. Pouring concrete in all seasons has never been a problem for us. But in this case, it was also necessary to think fast-track, with location-related challenges, forcing the use of very long pours, up to 250 m, with the help of a crane to support the pipe. »
Maturity sensor technology
“We used the maturity sensor technology, which allows us to monitor the temperature of the concrete in real-time and thus considerably reduces the duration of the cure, which is stopped as soon as we see that the target values have been obtained,” continued Mr. Ductan. Using measuring instruments (sensors or maturity sensors) inserted in the concrete, it is possible to estimate the strength in place of the concrete. This rather unique technique is not yet standard in the industry. “But we at Béton Provincial are very interested in it because of the time it saves, which was the case for this project. We consider that we have saved 20 days! We are always on the lookout for innovations.
The ultimate in technical and acoustic performance
The new Radio-Canada Broadcasting House includes two administrative buildings and a building dedicated to all CBC recording and production activities. The technical building houses a studio and multi-platform information sets, a large, modern and versatile television studio (the equivalent of the famous “Studio 42”) with long ranges and acoustic requirements, specific to the nature of the premises.
The Strength of Béton Provincial
Three of the company’s plants near downtown were involved in this project, as well as a large fleet of concrete mixers. In addition to its expertise and years of success, this proximity to facilities and staff is an undeniable strength for Béton Provincial.
The beginning of a fruitful collaboration with Broccolini
This was the first collaboration of this magnitude between Béton Provincial and Broccolini, a leader in construction and real estate development services, which has since been followed by other equally interesting and challenging mandates. “ Béton Provincial is one of the largest private manufacturers of ready-mixed concrete in North America,” explains Sylvain Veronneau. A 100% Quebec-based, sole proprietorship company, we operate in an industrial sector mainly occupied by multinational companies. Our clients quickly realize the benefits of doing business with us. It is easy, it is fast and it goes well. We are one phone call away from the most important decisions.
“We are proud to have contributed to the success of this very high visibility project, with the valuable collaboration of other stakeholders in the project, including Planchers de Béton Cami-Tec inc. concrete floor finisher” concluded Mr. Veronneau.
A new “ entrance ” in the town of Montreal
The new Radio-Canada Broadcasting House is part of a major project to revitalize Montréal downtown, with the new CHUM, the covering of the highway Ville-Marie and access to the waterfront. A whole new “city entrance” is now emerging at the foot of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge!
The main challenge for Béton Provincial of the Icone condo project, located in the heart of downtown Montreal, was managing logistics on the ground: organizing the order and pace of truck arrival and departure, while taking dedicated lanes into account, planning the space required for cementing vehicles and equipment, and assigning a location for washing the concrete mixers. This large-scale tactical ballet has to contend with urban traffic and the dozen or so other large-scale real-estate projects currently going up simultaneously in the neighbourhood. Choosing the right type of concrete for any given circumstances is also one of the most crucial parts of the project; it varies based on the stage and season. Since everything depends on the concrete’s exposure, it may need entrained air, while in the basement and in parking areas, higher performance C1 concretes are needed, with different permeability levels and resistance to deicing salt. The project workers must often use a complex concrete-placing method in sequences, requiring concretes with different strengths within the same structures. Concretes up to 65 MPa were produced to build the structure, benefiting from the quality and performance of Béton Provincial’s Tercim cement.
By setting their sights on Silver LEED® certification, the developers of the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion decided to make environmental friendliness their number-one priority. To satisfy the LEED® program’s material requirements, we integrated 20% fly ash into the cement mix used to build the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion. The ash is a plant by-product, and this gives our product greater value from an environmental standpoint. Tercim, Béton Provincial’s cement mixing plant located in Port de Québec, played a key role in engineering this environmentally responsible initiative.
Built atop the site of the former Dominicans Monastery, the new MNBAQ Pavillion shares one of its walls with the chapel that adjoins the establishment. The project’s architects wished to make this conjoining wall one of the building’s distinctive elements—an architectural component without equal in Quebec with its texture and flawless surface finish. This was no small task, considering that concrete formwork necessarily creates imperfections. “The company Coffrages LD worked relentlessly to build a special formwork to ensure that the wall’s surface would be exceptionally smooth,” said Michel Verret. It took the partners three months to complete this phenomenal structure, built horizontally in a pentagonal, concrete formwork in one single pour, before being hoisted vertically using a crane. At Béton Provincial, an additional technician put his shoulder to the wheel, ensuring that the concrete’s slump value, set precisely at 130 mm, was maintained and that the project was ready for pouring the moment it arrived at the worksite, with no additional water needed. This tricky job was carried off brilliantly, thanks to the flawless execution of the professionals on site. The south-western gable in the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion is already considered “high art” by viewers in the field.
From beams, to structural slabs, to walkways and waterslides, Béton Provincial’s signature is all over the new Valcartier Vacation Village tourist site, one of the largest water parks in Canada.
In total, 12,000 m3 of concrete were used to bring this complex to life, welcomed enthusiastically by vacationers and the local economic community alike. At the height of the project, around twenty Béton Provincial employees were involved.
According to key partners in the project, creating the raft, the concrete platform that serves as the foundation for the entire new construction, presented the team with a significant challenge. This operation is highly technical, involving considerable amounts of concrete and framework, and is essential when a building is constructed on a thick bed of sand, as is the case for the new Valcartier Vacation Village complex.
When building a raft foundation, concrete is poured several times in different sequences. For the Valcartier site, there were five successive pours of up to 700 metres of concrete each.
