Originally completed in 1913, the University of Manitoba’s Administration Building was one of the first and most prominent buildings constructed on the campus.  As part of the 2021 to 2022 “Exterior Envelope Refurbishment & Exterior Lighting Design” project, Northstar was tasked with providing safe and non-intrusive access to the exterior of this prominent and historical landmark.

A significant project challenge was providing access to the uppermost “Cupola”, while not imposing excessive loads on the century-old roof.  Northstar’s Engineering & Design Team overcame this challenge by designing the scaffold with 80’ wide “arches” that span across the entire building.  These “arched” spans transfer the loads back down to the ground and are supported by weighted scaffold buttresses at four corners.

Specialized wall anchors were installed and randomly pull-tested to ensure the wall-scaffold connections were secure and would not damage the masonry.

To read more from our experts about scaffolding and heritage buildings, visit the Northstar News blog post Scaffolding On Heritage Buildings: A Critical Piece of Restoration