CHALK RIVER, ONT. – The Chalk River Laboratories recently celebrated the opening of the Science Collaboration Centre, a newly-constructed office complex at the campus in Chalk River.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Canada’s nuclear Crown corporation, and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).
The facility is anticipating opening to 450 employees and partners this fall. The new six-storey, 9,500-square-metre facility will serve as the central planning and collaboration space for the company’s science and technology program. It was constructed using mass timber products sourced from within Canada and features office space, 44 meeting rooms, collaborative flex spaces, a university-style auditorium with 200 theatre-style seats, a library space and a rooftop terrace.
The centre is one of a series of new “enabling” buildings that have recently been constructed at the Chalk River Laboratories site to revitalize the campus, thanks to a $1.3 billion investment over 10 years from AECL on behalf of the Government of Canada, states a release.
The three new non-nuclear buildings use about 3,750 cubic metres of mass timber as structural material, sequestering carbon equivalent to taking 800 gas-powered cars off the road or the energy from 400 homes in a year.
The centre was also constructed using strategies that include sustainable site development, water and energy efficiency, environmentally-friendly materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
In addition to the Science Collaboration Centre, a research complex is under construction, a new two-storey industrial-use support facility was recently inaugurated, a new site entrance building is now operational, and several science facilities have been opened in recent years, including a brand new hydrogen laboratory complex, a new materials research laboratory, and a new tritium laboratory.
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