Science Collaboration Centre at Chalk River Campus celebrates grand opening
The new Science Collaboration Centre (SCC) at the Chalk River Campus, designed by HDR, as part of CNL IPD NB Poly Party Team, will serve as the central space for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Science and Technology programs.
The Science Collaboration Centre (SCC), a key facility in the revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories campus in Ontario, will serve as the central planning and collaboration space for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Science and Technology programs. The mass timber building is designed by architecture firm HDR, as part of CNL IPD NB Poly Party Team.
The SCC is one of three non-nuclear buildings recently built at the Chalk River Laboratories using mass timber, sustainably sourced within Canada. The new complex features a total of 44 meeting rooms, collaborative flex spaces, a university-style auditorium with 200 theatre-style seats, a library space, and a roof-top terrace.
In our earlier article on the trio of buildings, we reported on the innovation of the structural column design in the Science Collaboration Centre. The column includes notches that provide bearing support for the beams, while a vertical channel allows for surface-mounted conduit, which continues along the ceiling in a service pathway framed by a pair of purlins.
On September 6, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) president and CEO, Fred Dermarkar, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) president and CEO, Joe McBrearty, joined other industry executives and representatives, government officials and special guests to celebrate the grand opening of the new facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a facility tour of the new building. Staffing of the building began on September 25, 2023.
The SCC is a six-storey, 9,500 m2 building and is one of a series of new ‘enabling’ buildings that are being built at the Chalk River Laboratories site with the aim to revitalize the campus. This is made possible by a $1.2 billion investment over ten years from AECL and the Government of Canada.
The new facility features a modern office space and meeting rooms for approximately 450 employees, and serves as the new home for CNL’s staff library, auditorium and data centre.
CNL’s three new non-nuclear buildings use approximately 3,750 m3 of mass timber as structural material. This is equivalent to taking 800 gas-powered cars off the road or the energy from 400 homes in a year.
The new complex also aims to promote wellness and social governance through the use of other natural elements, light and materials.