As the University of Waterloo grows, the number of students, staff, and visitors also grows. The university’s existing parking infrastructure has shown to be insufficient for the increasing demand. There are currently 16 parking lots on campus, only four of which allow student permit parking. Mint Consulting has proposed a sustainable multi-level parking structure that would provide additional parking spaces to the university. This would also allow for existing parking lots to be repurposed for future developments, whether it be buildings or green space.

Faculty Advisor: Marianna Polak

Housing market trends show that house prices in the GTA have been steadily increasing while the average wage of millennials has remained stagnant. As a result, there are very limited housing options available for millennials. SpaceUp wants to provide millennials with a new housing option, which is both cost-effective and comfortable. To achieve this, SpaceUp has decided to design an ICF-Timber framed house with a dynamic floorplan. The dynamic floorplan will consist of interior walls that can change orientation as well as space saving furniture.

Faculty Advisors: Joyce Kim, Roydon Fraser

Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular due to their fuel costs savings, emissions reduction and reliable performance. Eventually, traditional gas stations will need to evolve or risk losing their customers. Revolt Group seeks to transform the Phillip and Columbia St. Petro-Canada, into an electric vehicle charging station with carbon neutral facilities. The team’s future-proof design will serve as a model for upcoming gas station redevelopments.

Faculty Advisor: David Mather

During open-cut construction, roads are either closed and all traffic is detoured or partially closed for phased construction. As an alternative solution, Due Diligence Consulting is designing a modular timber truss bridge to be constructed quickly and cost-effectively above the site to allow traffic to continue to operate closer to normal daily flows without disrupting construction operations. This will decrease the total project time for construction and will therefore also decrease the total project cost.

Faculty Advisor: Daniel Lacroix

Wildfire and flooding events cause significant damage to essential infrastructure including educational facilities. While substantial repairs/reconstruction occur, the education of students is disrupted and school districts scramble to find alternative facilities. To combat this, Dream Team Ltd. proposed an elevated modular school employing cold formed steel panels that can be implemented throughout Canada; Fort McMurray was chosen as an example. The team aims to provide a design with increased resistance to wildfire and flooding events capable of rapid deployment and adapting to varying populations.

Faculty Advisor: Lei Xu

The CANAMEX corridor is a major international trade corridor connecting North America. In Southern Alberta, there is a delay in traffic around the City of Lethbridge and the Town of Fort MacLeod, owing to inefficient routing. Transwave Consulting has been retained by Alberta Transportation to design for an optimized traffic routing solution in this region. The team’s recommended highway design will aim to prioritize a sustainable and life-centered design while focusing on reducing travel time and improving traffic safety.

Faculty Advisor: Hassan Baaj