Engineering firm Entuitive is marking its 15th anniversary by establishing a $10,000 annual scholarship for structural engineering students attending Canadian universities.
A fund of this size is uncommon among mid‑sized engineering firms, says CEO Brock Schroeder, but the company sees it as a meaningful way of investing in the next generation and giving back to the industry that has supported the firm’s growth.
The scholarship criteria will be set each year, with applications opening this spring for the upcoming fall semester.
Entuitive has come a long way from when Schroeder and four other former employees at Halcrow Yolles founded the company in 2011, opening offices in Toronto and Calgary and eventually in Vancouver, Edmonton and Ottawa.
Schroeder says initially the small team saw the company growing to have a staff of 50 in three to four years, but that number was surpassed in just eight months, thanks in large measure to securing a major project for Brookfield Properties of an overbuild – a massive structural deck constructed above 13 rail lines – at Pennsylvania Station.
It became the structural base for a four‑tower development.
“It was a hugely complex project, a combination of client relationships, technical expertise,” he says.
Within its first two years, Entuitive carried a staff of 75 and was engaged in several major jobs, including Ripley’s Aquarium, the Remai Modern Art Gallery in Saskatoon, the Penn Station project and it had just secured the ambitious Calgary Central Library project.
Schroeder says having the company’s credibility affirmed so early in its life gave the team a boost of confidence.
Entuitive’s success stems from a philosophy that blends strong client relationships with a belief that “nothing is impossible. We have always prided ourselves on punching above our weight.”
Today, Entuitive’s portfolio covers a variety of disciplines, including integrated structural engineering, building envelope design and sustainability consulting. It is part of multiple major integrated project delivery teams, design-build projects and public-private partnerships.
High profile jobs include its largest-ever – multiple components of Toronto’s Union Station revitalization. It is one of the primary structural engineers for the Calgary Flames new hockey arena, Scotia Place, which is now under construction, and Halifax’s QEII Health Sciences Centre, the largest hospital redevelopment in Atlantic Canada.
One of its most complex projects is Parliament Hill’s Centre Block in Ottawa, which houses the Peace Tower, Senate and House of Commons. The massive excavation and foundation work includes underpinning the historic complex to allow for three new basement levels and seismic isolation.
Schroeder says currently work involves the installation of about 1,200 temporary piles with glycol lines to maintain temperature and eliminate contraction/expansion.
“Because it is a heritage building the tolerance for movement is close to zero.”
The company’s technology arm employs computational design and AI-driven software to accelerate design processes and improve reliability on the industry’s increasingly complex projects.
Schroeder says Entuitive is involved in new alternative project deliveries such as the Alliance Partnership at Richmond Hospital in B.C.
“It’s about staying on top of the trends in the industry, how delivery methods are changing and the sectors becoming more important, particularly because of geopolitical changes.”
A mid‑sized engineering firm with roughly 350 employees, the company’s annual revenue is about $70 million.
