Award

October 2016

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OCTOBER 2016 | 57 Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute – UBC RENDERING COURTESY PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNICATION DESIGN Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute – UBC by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI I t's almost impossible when you talk to anyone involved in the new Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (SBQMI) project at the University of British Columbia not to think of the cast from The Big Bang Theory. And in some ways you would be right. Inside this phenomenal structure research scientists in quantum structures, quantum materials and applications towards quantum devices will assemble to make history. You can imagine then the complexities involved in building a structure that deals with such sensitive equipment, where even the lightest footstep could destroy years of research. The new 51,000-square-foot, state- of-the-art research space for the SBQMI is an addition to the Brimacombe building built in 1992, which houses the related Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory (AMPEL). Digging the foundations for the SBQMI required careful attention to detail to avoid impacting the work going on in the adjoining building. In order to do so Dialog and Unitech Construction Management had to stagger the foundations and create a tieback system to hold the Brimacombe building up. "Although the building floor plate is quite small, the excavation was very deep and both foundation work and waterproofing were complex," explains Rick Boates, president at Unitech. Nick Maile, who is managing the project on behalf of UBC Properties Trust, adds that seismic anchors were used due to the mass of the building and to prevent overturning of the structure in an earthquake. "This is a reflection of the heavy weight of the concrete structure when compared with other lab buildings of similar size," says Maile. The new SBQMI four-storey structure has a single level basement 28-feet below grade and is connected to Brimacombe via hallways, which architect Brian Wakelin from Public Architecture and Communication Design likens to a Lego form. Its design is almost u-shaped and features concrete slabs, concrete shear walls, concrete columns and footings that help minimize any vibrations. "We had to model the slab in a program that simulates a person walking along the corridor outside the lab. We went through varying modelling techniques to meet the requirements," explains Mark van Bockhoven from Dialog, who worked closely with vibration specialists RWDI Consulting Engineers and laboratory design consultant Maples Argo Architects. "We had three very strict criteria: the foundation of the concrete blocks in the basement vaults sit on a 16-inch- thick slab that has its own two-inch- thick vibration material that also dampens the vibration; the next level of vibrations criteria was on the ground floor above the vaults and we had to put beams into the slab to reduce the vibrations; the last requirement was in the upper floors, so we had to create 14-inch-thick slabs to control the vibrations in that area," explains van Bockhoven. Certain areas also required stainless steel and carbon fibre reinforcing to reduce magnetic interference with the instruments. While the exterior of Brimacombe is fairly subdued in nature, SBQMI's goal was to not only meet the needs of those working inside, but to tie it in with the campus and engage the public. Public Architecture took inspiration from within to create a rather striking angular design that uses a white glazed brick seen on other buildings around the campus, combined with darker bricks and lots of windows. "Our inspiration came from conversations with the researchers," explains Wakelin. "One of the team members makes a high grade crystal structure that is used for a variety of research. The chemical compound has a beautiful repetitive structure so this idea finds its way into the masonry pattern of the building." Wakelin adds that every brick aligns north south and when the angles are cut all the brick pattern becomes ragged on the edges, much like a magnet. Landscape architect Andrew Robertson at ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. took this language and transposed it onto the surfacing in terms of the unit paver surfacing that surrounds the building. "Because the building has quite a few angular faces, we took that and created a long projection that becomes a seat wall for the public. The softscape planting also features an angular planting pattern scheme," says Robertson. In fact, considering the space allotted to landscaping, ISL was able to create an area with real meaning by being aware of circulation patterns and egress points and designing the landscaping to create a certain flow. Head on inside via the East Mall entrance and you enter a compressed space that opens up into a new reception area, which will feature displays showcasing the work that goes inside and help communicate its relevance to the world at large. "This space opens up vertically to the labs above and deep down to the lab vaults below, while the stairs connect a series of double-height lounges and social spaces," explains Wakelin. In the below grade space is the mechanical and electrical equipment, as well as research vaults. "The spaces here have been designed like Russian dolls. They are concrete lined cubes with other concrete cubes inside. The inner cube has the least vibration and noise," says Wakelin. Each floor features a number of laboratories and office spaces; the offices face the courtyard while the labs, which have been designed to be flexible to help simulate the identical conditions of a given experiment, face out to East Mall to engage the public. Again, due to the nature of the building and the need for low vibrations, Integral Group and WSP/ MMM Group Ltd. faced extremely stringent mechanical and electrical requirements to minimize noise and vibration. "The building required very clean power and low electromagnetic radiation in some of the laboratory spaces," explains Andrew Tashiro, senior project manager at WSP/MMM Group Ltd. "Electrical power is sourced from the adjacent existing Brimacombe building. In order to try and mitigate electrical noise, isolation transformers have been individually provided for each laboratory module and there is a dedicated clean power panel board." Connecting to the existing Brimacombe building also presented an electrical challenge: "We did not want any electrical power quality issues to propagate to the SBQMI facility. Isolation transformers and additional grounding help mitigate any electrical issues in the new facility. SBQMI is also very constrained for space and so creative solutions to locating electrical equipment were found within the architectural layout," says Tashiro. Ventilation air in the building is provided by two air handling units on the roof. "There are two heat recovery exhaust fan units on the roof serving the laboratory," explains Mary On from Integral Group. "The heat recovery units recover waste heat from approximately 70 percent of laboratory exhaust air using heat recovery coils and six water-to-water heat pumps. The recovered heat is used to provide space heating and ventilation air heating." On adds that since SBQMI shares the same central plant as the existing AMPEL building, the waste heat could also be used in the AMPEL building. While complex in subject matter, the project went rather smoothly, which according to Dialog's van Bockhoven was thanks to the use of Revit software that helped resolve issues before the work began and a dedicated and communicative team. A LOCATION 2355 East Mall, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER UBC Properties Trust ARCHITECT Public Architecture and Communication Design CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Unitech Construction Management Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT DIALOG MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Integral Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT WSP/MMM Group Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. LABORATORY DESIGN CONSULTANT Maples Argo Architects TOTAL SIZE 51,000 square feet TOTAL COST $25.2 million 3:52 PM

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