The Supreme Court of Canada building sits in downtown Ottawa as part of the parliamentary precinct. The building houses the highest courts in the country and has multiple uses, serving as a court, office spaces and a library. The structure was built about 80 years ago, designed by renowned engineer and architect, Ernest Cormier. The structure was  studied as a preliminary step to a substantial retrofit.

Multiple vibration-based tests were conducted on the building by our team in order to obtain the following from the structure:
 

• Initial baseline of the structure

 

• Extraction of dynamic characteristics of the structure

 

• Modal identification

 

• Condition assessment to determine integrity and connectivity across the structure

 

• Evaluation of towers to mitigate resonance effects with the bulk of the structure

 

• Conversion of ambient level properties to higher shaking level properties

 

• Vibration-based global seismic evaluation (HAZUS)

 

• Vibration-based component level seismic evaluation (FEMA P-58)

 

• Calibration of the finite-element model of the structure