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As the ripples of Peterborough’s Otonabee River mark the enduring spirit of Canadian paddlers, the new home of the Canadian Canoe Museum stands as a reminder of the nation's deep-rooted connection with its waterways. This standout, brand-new facility was supported by Geosolv, a Canadian company specializing in innovative ground improvement solutions tailored to overcome challenging soil conditions with a focus on Ontario soils. As Toronto celebrates Canada Day, the recently opened museum serves as a symbol of past and present — from national heritage to advanced technologies.
Founded in 2006, GeoSolv has carved out a market as a leader in ground improvement, providing more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional excavation and foundation methods. The company delivers engineering solutions for contractors, developers, engineers, and property owners. Their Geopier GeoConcrete® Column (GCC) system, one of many ground improvement techniques that GeoSolv offers, is changing how foundations are laid, particularly for projects involving problematic soils.
Built on the east bank of the Otonabee River at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, the Canadian Canoe Museum is designed by Unity Design Studio. The museum started in 1997 in a repurposed warehouse, but has now moved to its permanent two-storey home, a 65,000 ft² structure offering west-facing views over Little Lake. The new facility soft-opened this past winter, while a grand celebration was held in May, 2024.
As the Canadian Canoe Museum embarked on its relocation, Geosolv rose to the challenge. The new site, with heavy surficial organics, presented significant risks for conventional foundation methods. GeoSolv's GCC system eliminated the need for costly and environmentally disruptive driven steel piles. This method fortified the foundation while minimizing the project's ecological footprint by reducing the need for extensive soil excavation.
This system employs a displacement method that uses ready-mix concrete to construct rigid inclusions. A specialized mandrel is used with a concrete pumping inlet, an air valve, and a patented bottom valve. As the mandrel is driven into the soil, it compacts the surrounding earth, improving the ground's load-bearing properties. This involves repeatedly driving the mandrel to the design depth, creating a large-diameter bulb at the base. This bulb acts as a solid anchor, significantly increasing the foundation's capacity to support structural loads, and effectively improving the base soil conditions beneath the bulb.
Throughout the installation, the internal pressure within the mandrel is continuously recorded, providing real-time feedback on the concrete volume and the integrity of the pier. The system also includes a Load Transfer Cushion (LTC) that decouples lateral loads and provides a uniform support layer for footings and slabs.
Geosolv saved the Canadian Canoe Museum significant foundational costs. The use of GCC also expedited the construction timeline, as it required less time than traditional methods that involve extensive excavation and material displacement.
“The soil conditions at the Canadian Canoe Museum were challenging, with initial concepts involving deep foundations,” shared John Ford, P.Eng., Vice President of Building Structures at LEA Consulting Ltd., one of the engineers involved with the project. “GeoSolv presented ground improvement solutions that allowed the building to be supported on shallow foundations, and in some areas for slab-on-grade support, reducing excavation and engineered fill.”
GeoSolv has gone from a start-up to a prominent leader in ground improvement within Ontario's geotechnical engineering community. Historically, Ontario developers had limited options to manage poor soil conditions — either extensive excavation or the installation of deep foundations — that could not support traditional spread footings. GeoSolv’s method has gained traction and has also been applied extensively, including in the Toronto Port Lands where over 100km of ground improvement elements have been installed.
GeoSolv, with headquarters in Woodbridge, prides itself on being a wholly Canadian-owned and operated company, distinguishing itself as the local ground improvement experts.
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| Related Companies: | GeoSolv Design + Build , LEA Consulting |
