Observatory & Rollercoaster Designer at Home in Sorrento
The Thirty Meter Telescope model photoshopped onto Mauna Kea in Hawaii (image courtesy of National Observatory of Japan)
By Jo Boxwell
The rural Shuswap is many things. Global engineering hub it is not. With a home office and a good internet connection, however, anything is possible, as Craig Breckenridge, Lead Designer at BC-based engineering firm Dynamic Structures has proven.
Craig has worked remotely off and on since the 1990s, successfully navigating the many pitfalls and frustrations of early remote connections. He has spent most of his career with Dynamic Structures, which was headquartered in Port Coquitlam for many years before the firm relocated to Burnaby.
In 2016, Craig and his partner, Linda, were living in Haiti when a hurricane struck their house. The couple lost everything. The devastating event sent them on a path back to Canada, and in 2020, seeking an affordable place to start again, they found a home with a beautiful lake view just outside Sorrento.
Dynamic Structures' patented Robocoaster - a section of coaster track with robots (photo contributed)
When they arrived in the Shuswap, Craig’s plan was to retire, but that idea hasn’t slowed him down much. He still works for Dynamic Structures three days a week in a portable building he brought in as an office space. From his Sorrento base, he continues to work as Lead Designer on the types of projects he has dedicated his career to, namely enclosures for some of the world’s most important optical telescopes and thrilling rides for some of the world’s most visited attractions.
While astronomy and theme parks may appear unrelated, Craig pointed out that from an engineering perspective, they have a lot in common. “They’re both big, complex machines. Both have a lot of mechanical systems, electrical systems. They have to be strong, structurally,” he said. Precision is critical, and the geometry involved, particularly with amusement rides, can get extremely complicated.
Astronomy
Dynamic Structures Motion Theatre being trial assembled in Port Coquitlam (photo contributed)
Craig is an amateur astronomer, so when he was first asked to travel to Hawaii in the 1990s to work on the Subaru Telescope, he didn’t hesitate. He later returned to the country as the lead designer for the Gemini Observatory (which has telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile). The complexity of the Gemini project appealed to Craig; “It has an overhead crane that moves on an inclined plane on the inside of the roof of the enclosure, and it clears the telescope no matter which position the telescope is in.” He also worked on the W. M. Keck Observatory, again in Hawaii, and its two telescopes held the title of the world’s largest reflecting telescopes for a number of years.
One of Craig’s most impressive astronomical projects is yet to be built. He was the Lead Designer for the Thirty Meter Telescope and spent 15 years on the project. When built, it will be the second largest optical telescope in the world and has been designed to work in conjunction with the aptly named Extremely Large Telescope (currently under construction in Chile) and the James Webb Space Telescope (in orbit). Craig commented that “The Thirty Meter Telescope project was groundbreaking in so many ways.” The design work was conducted on an immense scale; “it was the largest project ever built in Autodesk Inventor software,” he said, with more than two million parts in the model.
Craig was president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – Vancouver Centre for two years, and he highlighted the fact that many people are unaware of the significant contribution Canadians have made, and continue to make, in the field of astronomy. He said, “Canadian engineers and Canadian astronomers are at the forefront of astronomy worldwide.” For many years, Dynamic Structures fabricated the parts for observatory enclosures in Port Coquitlam, and Craig explained that many of the world’s leading optical observatories have enclosures that were manufactured in BC.
Attractions
According to Craig, “if you’ve been to a major theme park anywhere in the world, you have ridden on rides that were designed and built in BC.” Dynamic Structures has worked with theme park giants like Disney and Universal, and the process varies considerably depending on the level of input from the client. Craig said the team may help to bring a ride to life based on a rough concept, or their expertise may be sought to perfect a design that is already fully formed. They also create their own ride designs.
From his home office in Sorrento, Craig is currently working on a “flying theatre” motion simulator and is getting ready to start work on a Disney project for a theme park in Shanghai. While retirement remains somewhere on the distant horizon, Craig said, “It’s been a fantastic career over the years.” His accomplishments demonstrate that living in a rural area doesn’t necessarily limit opportunities.
