At Entuitive, we have a great team of creative, collaborative, and advanced people, and that includes our talented co-op students. In this post by Mason Lee, Junior Designer – Restoration, we hear about the exciting site visits he took part in and the strong friendships he made this winter as part of our Toronto office.

I first came across Entuitive via co-op job postings on my school’s job portal. As a part of the application process, I was directed to the Entuitive U portal to complete and submit an activity. It was here that I came across the Firehall Remediation activity: a virtual tour through a 3D model of a deteriorating 100-year-old firehall with interactive quiz points featuring areas of structural concern.

The activity gained my admiration for the use of innovative technologies at Entuitive, but also piqued my curiosity for restoration engineering work. Naturally, I was thrilled when I saw a co-op job opening with the restoration team!

Mason on-site of Manulife Centre with the contractors and Entuitive’s Designer Nic Tran.

I’m studying Architectural Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where there is an emphasis on learning about the challenges of updating aging buildings. My four months with the restoration team has given me great insight into this field of work.

I’ve had the opportunity of being involved in over 10 different projects including a façade retention feasibility study, various building condition assessments, a foundation design, expansion joint replacements, and more! I really enjoyed the exposure to such a wide variety of work.

Mason on-site of the Manulife Centre, waterproofing membrane.

A standout project for me was the underground parking garage repairs at the Manulife Centre. I was able to review and report on the full process of parking garage remediation from concrete repairs to waterproofing. I was on-site with my boots on the ground at least twice a week for site reviews and meetings. I gained valuable technical knowledge, improved my technical writing skills and formed some great relationships with the contractors. Thank you to Nic Tran and Daniel Frade for showing me the ropes on all things parking garage.

Toronto team members getting together for a board game night.

Lastly, I’d like to speak on working with the restoration team; they are an incredibly tight-knit, passionate and knowledgeable group of individuals. The energy in our office-corner was always incredible – I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with. I’ll be missing our lunches together on the 6^th floor lounge!