Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177525
he recently completed Centre for Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph is a testament to the leadership role Canada is taking in the development of DNA examination of plants and animals. Designed to meet LEED Silver standards by HOK Architects and built by PCL Constructors Canada Inc., the $17.1-million, 37,700-square-foot, two-storey, brick, concrete and glass structure will be the leading research and storage facility for the $180-million International Barcode of Life (iBOL) project. Led by integrative biology professor Paul Hebert – the inventor of DNA barcoding and director of the university's Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO) – the project will gather DNA barcode records from ive million specimens representing 500,000 species of organisms from researchers around the world. "Over the past ive years or more, Canada has taken a leadership role in the development of DNA-based identi ication systems for eukaryotic life," says University of Guelph project manager John Robson, in explaining why the university partnered with the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario to build the centre and take a lead role in the project. The BIO opened on campus in 2007 as the world's irst centre for high-volume DNA barcoding. The new adjoining genomics centre will encourage collaboration among university researchers and visiting international scientists, says Robson. Just some of its features include wet and dry laboratories, archive spaces¸ collection storage and displays rooms, a computer server room with back-up emergency power, large digital spaces, and break out areas where the researchers can socialize and brainstorm, says project architect Jenny Hyatt. For HOK and its design team, the challenge was to produce a design that, in addition to meeting functional requirements, would give the centre a higher pro ile presence. Until now, the biodiversity research has been the university's 'best-kept secret.' Design concepts were advanced by asking the future occupants to describe in detail the work that they do. By modelling 'days in the life' of the researchers, the architects were able to map out the most ef icient and effective use of space, an exercise Hyatt compares to arranging the pieces in a complex jigsaw puzzle. The outcome was a design that met the university's objectives while reducing the challenges of constructing a new building on a tight three-hectare site in the heart of the campus. Comprised of two two-storey masonry wings and a central atrium with clerestory windows in a con iguration the architect suggests symbolically represents the moths, butter lies and other specimens under study there, the building has a northeast orientation which give the centre the high pro ile the university had wanted. It fronts on to Reynolds Walk, a well used pedestrian walkway which cuts across the campus and is visible from Gordon Street, a main vehicular thoroughfare. "We've provided a great deal of ambient light with the use of curtain wall glazing on the north side, and have minimized solar gain on the south, east and west sides by using a maximum of 40 per cent strip window glazing." The placement of the building on the site also helped to reduce the impact of a maze of underground utility lines, which service the campus and a – now-demolished – building. Minimizing footprint and solar gain and using locally manufactured brick for the exterior walls, which preserves an architectural continuity with the other campus buildings, is part of the strategy to achieve LEED certi ication, says Hyatt. So also is the mechanical/electrical design. Mechanical components include low- low washroom ixtures, C02 sensors that control the required ventilation and an integrated air volume/heat recovery system that regulates the supply and exhaust of air for the laboratories. "Air low in and out of the labs is monitored and the variable volume control boxes adjust constantly to balance the air low and pressure in the spaces," says Dan Curley, associate with Smith + Andersen Consulting Engineers , the mechanical/electrical consultant. Centre for Biodiversity Genomics – University of Guelph p.88-89BiodeversityUofGuelph.indd 89 PHOTOS COURTESY BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ONTARIO T Centre for Biodiversity Genomics – University of Guelph by Dan O'Reilly Some of the key LEED-targeted electrical elements include a lighting control system which can be monitored and controlled from anywhere on campus, daylight and occupancy sensors, and dark sky-compliant exterior lighting, says electrical project manager Nick Nikolaidis. Other electrical features include a fully addressable ire alarm and computer server room's emergency power system which will ensure the critical information stored there won't be lost in the event of a power interruption. Structurally, the centre sits on a concrete lat slab supported by concrete columns which, in turn, are supported on spread footings. It is connected to the existing Biodiversity Institute building through an on grade structural steel LOCATION 583 Gordon Street Guelph, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER University of Guelph/Biodiversity Institute of Ontario ARCHITECT HOK Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Canada Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Halcrow Yolles MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen Consulting Engineers LEED CONSULTANT Morrison Hershfield LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Landplan Collaborative Ltd. TOTAL BUILDING AREA 37,700 square feet TOTAL PROJECT COST $17.1 million TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST $12.1 million link constructed with a moment structural frames (in both directions) that eliminated the need for cross bracings to resist lateral/ wind forces, says Sam Yacoub, senior associate with Halcrow Yolles, the structural consultant. Construction started in October 2010 and was completed this January. With a workforce of almost 50 and several machines on site, special precautions had to be taken so as not to disrupt the university's daily activities, says PCL project manager Pia Thurlow. "It's a student campus, so we were limited, schedule wise, to complete certain work within the summer months to minimize effects on the students' return in September." Landscaping features near the entrances include locally quarried boulders, groupings of native trees and shrubs, and rocks fashioned into seats. Inspired by the terrain and ecosystems of Northern Ontario, the landscaping connects the centre "with a vibrant campus setting while responding to the above and below-grade constraints of a small urban site," says Mark Steele of Landplan Collaborative Ltd., the locally based landscape architect. A fully accessible entry path, which connects the centre with Reynolds Walk, guides visitors through "gently undulating landforms." A retention pond with native and adaptive grasses and perennials that provides visual interest for viewers within the building as well as those approaching along the entry path, says Steele. In summing up the project's success, the university's Paul Hebert notes that the centre will be a unique facility that will help transform biodiversity science. ■ FEBRUARY 2012 /89 1/23/12 10:57:19 AM