An Uplifting Rehab...
by Kate O'Brien
Last Fall, the Christ Church Cathedral
located in downtown Montreal, Quebec,
was a special source of inspiration to everyone
who saw it-but especially to building
engineers. The 128-year-old landmark was
tagged the "floating cathedral" by some
while it was undergoing an unusual and
complete foundation renovation.
Poor soil conditions had plagued the
church's foundation since it was constructed
in 1859. Last October, engineers
sank foundation columns into bedrock,
and created a concrete girdle around the
church. Forms were tunneled under the
church and horizontal beams cast. Together
this created a concrete pad for the
church to rest on. The pad was post-tensioned
with steel cables. Once this new
support system was in place the