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J UNE 2015 | 95 Saskatchewan Centre for Cyclotron Sciences – University of Saskatchewan PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY AODBT ARCHITECTURE + INTERIOR DESIGN; UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN Saskatchewan Centre for Cyclotron Sciences – University of Saskatchewan by PETER CAULFIELD T his year Saskatchewan is celebrat- ing two firsts: it is completing its first cyclotron on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon; and the cyclotron will pro- duce radioisotopes, which will be used by the nearby Royal University Hospital for its first positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT) scanner. T he Sask atchewan Cent re for Cyclotron Sciences – owned by the University and operated by the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre of Nuclear Innovation – is 21,430 square feet and two-storeys high. The cyclotron itself is approximately the size of a small car and sits in the centre of the facility, housed within a concrete vault. "The building is complete and the cyclotron is in place," says Ron Cruikshank, the University's director of planning and development, facilities management division. "Equipment com- missioning has started and the facility will be producing radioisotopes for medical use by the fall of 2016." The cyclotron, which is manufac- tured by B.C.-based Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc., accelerates protons to extremely high speeds. The protons can be used to produce radioactive iso- topes (radioisotopes), which are used in PET-CT scanners. A PET-CT scanner combines positron emission tomogra- phy (PET) and X-ray computed tomog- raphy (CT) so that images from both devices can be superimposed into a single image to reveal fine details that would not have been as visible using either technique alone. The centre – tucked away in the mid- dle of the campus – is virtually invisible to the general public. "It's a simple indus- trial building," says Bob Burnyeat, prin- cipal architect and managing partner of aodbt architecture + interior design. "The first storey houses the cyclotron, production and administration space and the second storey contains mechan- ical and air-handling equipment." The project renovated and expanded the university's Animal Resource Centre – a small research facility that had been vacated. Burnyeat adds that money was invested in the internal function, rather than the external form. "The building is a simple metal box which was designed by our firm in the mid-1980s to blend into the surrounding landscape," says Burnyeat. "Most of the main level is obscured by a landscaped berm. The visible portion of the building is clad in pre-finished metal siding. Office areas and the main entrance use a combina- tion of window walls and metal sidings." Concrete was used extensively in the building, particularly in the areas that house the cyclotron, because concrete is durable and shields against radioactivity. "The laboratory areas are finished with high-quality, seamless cleanable finishes and stainless steel casework that conforms to the licensing require- ments for the facility," says Burnyeat. The main design consideration was the organization of product flow and the need for the cyclotron's vault to pro- vide the necessary radiation shielding. To that end, aodbt engaged specialist Novopro Projects Inc. of Montreal as a subconsultant on the project. Shaw n Gardner, projec t man- ager with general contractor PCL Construction Management Inc., says the concrete requirements for housing a cyclotron were an "exciting" chal- lenge. "The concrete walls and ceiling of the cyclotron's vault are 2.5-metres thick, which made them mass pours," says Gardner. "There are specific tem- perature dynamics that need to be maintained during the curing process. PCL installed a network of piping that carried cool water to keep the optimum core temperature of the concrete slabs." Temperatures inside and outside were continuously monitored and recorded to ensure the concrete's inter- nal temperatures did not get too high and that the temperature differential between the core, surface and outside air did not vary outside specification. As most of the concrete was poured during one of Saskatchewan's coldest winters, there was significant risk of losing a pour. "A great deal of planning went into carrying out each pour," Gardner says. Another interesting challenge was the need to maintain differential room pressurization throughout the facility. "All points of air leakage within a room needed to be sealed," Gardner adds. "Getting the building to a point where each room performed successfully took planning and execution." There were a number of structural challenges to this exciting project. "The concrete mix and its components had to be chemically analyzed to determine how radioactive the walls would become over the lifespan of the cyclotron," says Dale Heggie, a structural design engi- neer with Robb Kullman Engineering LLP. "During construction, the density of the concrete was closely monitored and de-airing additives were used to elimi- nate the natural air within the concrete." To enable the cyclotron to be installed by crane in its vault, and removed again once it has reached the end of its useful life, a removable, three-section concrete roof plug was built. The Centre also features a number of unique mechanical features. "In addi- tion to a high-purity compressed air sys- tem, we installed a high-plume exhaust to get cyclotron exhaust air high into the atmosphere, where it would be diluted," says Dwayne Kostiuk, senior associate, buildings at Stantec Inc. "All of the air exhausted from the building is carbon- filtered in order to absorb radioactive particles before it is discharged into the exterior." Tyler Brezinski, principal of elec- trical consultants PWA Engineering Ltd., says the presence of the powerful cyclotron inside the building means the latter's electrical service is dispropor- tionately large. "Because of the thick walls, and because of the cyclotron's specialized systems and electrical equipment, we had to ensure the elec- trical installation was correct the first time," he says. "But the biggest challenge was co-ordinating the many pieces of electrical equipment that came to the project from all over the world." When it came to the landscaping, Rob Crosby, a landscape consultant with Crosby Hanna & Associates, says the architectural plans re-established backfill around three sides of the facility and more than half-way up the building walls. "To minimize the impact on adja- cent land uses, the backfill embank- ment was at a steep gradient, which is not suitable for grounds personnel to maintain," Crosby says. "The landscape response to this is to seed with dryland grasses. Once established, the seeding will stabilize the slope and require little or no regular maintenance." A LOCATION 120 Maintenance Road, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan OWNER/DEVELOPER University of Saskatchewan ARCHITECT aodbt architecture + interior design GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Construction Management Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Robb Kullman Engineering LLP MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Stantec Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT PWA Engineering Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Crosby Hanna & Associates CYCLOTRON CONSULTANT NOVOPRO TOTAL AREA 21,430 square feet TOTAL PROJECT COST $22.6 million CONSTRUCTION COST $18.4 million 3:40 PM

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