Building A Superstore | Ikea, Coquitlam, BC

Ikea Coquitlam, BC

IKEA's need for a tight budget and tight construction schedule was made more challenging by the difficult site. Our engineers needed to develop an innovative design that would be economical and simple to build. They delivered.

When IKEA wanted to build its sixth largest outlet in the world, they came to RJC for help. IKEA had selected a store location that was just off the Trans Canada Highway, offering their customers easy access, high visibility, and space for parking. The site however was an old fill and peat bog site, and required deep steel pile foundations and a suspended grade slab. IKEA's need for a tight budget and tight construction schedule was made more challenging by the difficult site. Our engineers quickly realized that they needed to develop a design that would be both more economical, and simpler to build than traditional systems.

RJC's solutions were a light steel structure and an innovative structural steel bracing system in the store's upper levels that minimized the earthquake forces on the building. Both of these design solutions significantly reduced the foundation requirements. The innovative bracing system utilized brand-new, not yet codified "Buckling -Inhibited Braces," which our engineers had especially constructed and tested for performance at Montreal's École Polytechnique. Another aspect of the design solution was the use of special ductile concrete moment frames in the lower levels of the store, which reduced both the size and number of the structural elements, allowed "visual security" in the parking area, and contributed to a lowering of the building costs.

Thanks to our engineers, IKEA met their initial challenges and brought the project in on time and on budget.

Vital Statistics

Architect: Abbarch Group Partnership
Owner: IKEA

Awards
Award of Merit by the Consulting Engineers of B.C.
CISC BC Steel Design Award.