Photo courtesy of Vancouver Convention Centre More than 3 million square feet of drywall was installed for the convention center expansion.

The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre went into service in 1986 and, to keep up with demand, a West Building was added to triple the venue’s capacity to 473,500 square feet.

Two-thirds of the West Building was built over the water on Burrard Inlet. Its architecture appears almost ship-like, with an enormous glass curtainwall system that looks out over the inlet to mountain vistas and the north shore area.

Celtic Contractors installed more than 3 million square feet of drywall on the project. Its work included light-gauge metal framing, sound and thermal insulation, and suspended acoustical and drywall ceilings.

The project was designed to LEED platinum standards and includes a 6-acre green roof with more than 400,000 native plants. The weight of the roof system required a substantial increase to the structural members to carry the load, and an allowance in the light-gauge metal framing for up to 6 inches of deflection.

Celtic had a team of up to 150 craft workers on the design-build job.

Judge’s comment: “The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre is an architecturally spectacular addition to the Vancouver waterfront. The sheer magnitude of the project, tight schedule, and logistical pre-planning required of Celtic Contractors made this a very challenging project.”