Building Structures Specialist, Jermyn Wong is passionate about sustainable and innovative building design, an enthusiasm inspired by his older brother. Jermyn tells us, “My brother is an architect. When I was younger, he would show me images of architecturally distinctive buildings, and take me on tours of buildings designed by renowned architects. This influenced my fascination with structures and the decision to become an engineer.” Jermyn’s love of structures and aptitude for applied math led to a civil engineering degree at UBC, followed by a Masters degree in structural engineering.
Jermyn acknowledges his supervisors who were key technical mentors during his junior years. During this time, he completed numerous complex projects as structural project engineer, taking on greater responsibility with each project. Some of his project highlights include the award-winning Trout Lake Arena and Community Centre in Vancouver, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitors Centre, and the SAIT Atrium Skylight Structure in Calgary.
“The Trout Lake projects were particularly notable because I was, essentially, the Lead Project Engineer from start to finish. I learned how to handle pressure and gained a stronger understanding of constructability considerations during design.”
Since joining Associated Engineering in 2011, Jermyn has enjoyed working on multi-discipline projects, which provide a variety of challenges and the opportunity to work collaboratively with colleagues from other disciplines. Jermyn says, “The most important things are to communicate frequently, be open and collaborative, and respect and help each other. Collaboration creates powerful synergies, resulting in a practical, cost-effective, and well-integrated solution that meets the needs of all parties.”
Jermyn is based in our Vancouver office’s Buildings & Facilities Group. The team is involved in projects ranging from municipal infrastructure, such as pump stations and reservoirs, to industrial facilities, residential/commercial/institutional buildings, and iconic architectural projects. He says, “I’m excited about the opportunity to work on interesting and challenging projects. We embrace the use of innovative and unique materials, and consider climate change mitigation and adaptation on every project. We also develop solutions in emerging areas, such as high-performance and net zero buildings.”
With Associated, Jermyn has served on the Owner’s Engineering team on the award-winning Wood Innovation Design Centre in Prince George, the tallest wood building in North America when it was completed. He was the Project Engineer on the award-winning Barnston Pump Station, which involved design of an intricate structural system. As Structural Lead on the award-winning Kinsmen Park Train Station in Saskatoon, Jermyn led the design of this architecturally exposed, cross-laminated timber structure. Recently, Jermyn led the structural design of Heron Hall, a custom residence built to Living Building standards. The project featured innovative materials such as engineered rammed earth and prefabricated wood structural insulated panels to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance the envelope performance.
A Designated Structural Engineer with EGBC, Jermyn is currently the Lead on the SFU Passivhaus, a project comprising 90 affordable rental apartment units. It will be one of the largest Passive House residential projects in Canada. He presented a paper at the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) in 2017 on some of the innovative solutions for addressing wood shrinkage/differential movements, and minimizing thermal bridging.
Outside of work, Jermyn enjoys travelling and spending time with his young family. He recently picked up playing volleyball, and is active at his church as a pianist and choir conductor. He sings and performs on a chamber choir with the Vancouver Oratorio Society. Jermyn also makes time to volunteer with Engineers and Geoscientists BC as a Registration Interviewer for structural engineering applicants.