Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/137453
SickKids Research & Learning Tower – The Hospital for Sick Children he Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is bringing its research and learning components into one building with the new 21-storey tower in Toronto. Consolidating research into one facility will encourage interaction among the 2,000 scientists, trainees and child health research staff working there, says Peter Sawras, director, facilities planning at SickKids. To support the goal of SickKids to create a highly-collaborative centre, programs are grouped together in departmental neighbourhoods of similarly themed research, says Duncan Higgins, associate, Diamond Schmitt Architects. "Each neighbourhood is organized around a multi-level interconnected atrium that overlooks the T city," says Higgins. "These atria provide social centres for each of the research communities. To bring the researchers into the context of the city, these spaces flow out of the taut tower envelope as curved glass projections." The curved insulated glass units are only manufactured in a few places in North America, says Dan Jolivet, senior project manager, EllisDon Corporation. In this case, they were purchased from a plant in Mexico. One of the major challenges to overcome was in the auditorium where there is an unsupported length of 20 metres, says Jolivet. "Steel sections had to be purchased from Europe and imported to Montreal where the fabrication shop for the trusses is located," says Jolivet. "The trusses span from the fourth SickKids Research & Learning Tower – The Hospital for Sick Children p84-85SickKids2.indd 85 floor to the fifth floor. They had to be installed in two sections, one of which was 45 tons and the other 66 tons. We had to design a bridge and climb the crane over the bridge. This was done in one weekend." The building's 17 f loors of research space are cloaked in a high-performance curtain wall, which incorporates solar control and a neighbourhood-identifying colour scheme, says Higgins. "The exterior materials for the building include unitized SSG curtain wall incorporating ceramic frit and coloured units, unitized curved SSG curtain wall to the interactive atrium with low-iron glass, and low-iron glass, zinc cladding and black Quebec granite with two textured finishes," he notes. One of the earliest challenges of the project was dealing with soil that was partially contaminated with salt and hydrocarbons, says Sawras. Other challenges involved the coordination of the multi-storey exterior glazed wall and a partially suspended third-floor bridge connecting the new tower to the existing Elizabeth McMaster building, says John Silvestri, senior associate with Yolles, a CH2M HILL company. The complexity of such a highlyserviced laboratory building on such a tight urban site also posed several challenges, says Higgins. "Adding an 800,000-square-foot research and learning facility into the fabric of Bay Street, maintaining and reinforcing the connection back to the main campus while forging a new, progressive architectural identity for SickKids, required some deft site arrangement and internal organization at grade," says Higgins. Basement construction adjacent to the existing Enwave facility required close coordination with existing conditions and a stepped basement to avoid underpinning the existing Enwave foundations, says Eric Gordon, senior principal with Yolles. "A column grid that reflected the lab bench module allowed a concrete flat-plate structure to be selected," says Gordon. "The shallow flat-plate maximizes the zone for existing and future underslab services. Concrete also provides a robust structure with good vibration characteristics, which is important when using photos: philip castleton by Angela Altass Location 686 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario Owner The Hospital for Sick Children Architect Diamond Schmitt Architects Associate Architect HDR Architecture Associates Inc. Construction Manager EllisDon Corporation Structural Consultant Yolles, a CH2M HILL company Mechanical/Electrical Consultant HH Angus & Associates Limited Total Area 780,000 square feet plus 2.5 levels below grade Total Cost $400 million sensitive laboratory equipment." As a laboratory building, the tower has some unique requirements, says Paul Keenan, principal, HH Angus & Associates Limited. "Mechanically, the building requires a pressurization control system for the laboratories, a dedicated fume hoods exhaust system with heat recovery and associated controls, specialized laboratory equipment venting and an array of lab gas services for research uses and for a cryogenic storage facility within the building," notes Keenan. Other features include a buildingwide intelligent ballast light management system (used for daylight harvesting and energy-reduction initiatives) and installation of a building-wide electric power monitoring system with central operator station and remote flat touch-screen monitoring in major electrical rooms, notes John de Sousa, principal, HH Angus & Associates Limited. LEED certifications have been targeted throughout the course of the project. "We targeted the building for LEED Gold and in addition we are now also going after LEED CI for the interiors and LEED E-BOM for the operations," says Sawras. "This building is going to be a beacon in downtown Toronto." n june 2013 /85 13-05-30 2:38 PM