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INNOVATION HUB THREE NEW BUILDINGS AT THE CHALK RIVER LABORATORIES CAMPUS DEPLOY MASS TIMBER AND AN IPD TEAM TO DELIVER INNOVATIVE RESULTS.
Science of Tomorrow The Chalk River campus sits on unceded Algonquin Anishinabek territory, on a picturesque 3,700-hectare plot at the edge of the Ottawa River. The site is relatively remote—a choice that was likely strategic when the facility was established in 1944. Today, security remains a critical concern, given the sensitive nature of work and material on site. Chalk River Laboratories has had a rich and complex history of nuclear research since its establishment under the purview of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a federal Crown corporation. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) now manages and operates the site on behalf of AECL. Among other things, Chalk River Laboratories was engaged in the operation and sales of CANDU reactor technology, as well as the production of a meaningful percentage of the world’s supply of radioactive isotopes for medical use. Today, it is among Canada’s key sites focused on technological innovation to support clean energy technology, including materials research and sustainable power generation. For instance, Chalk River’s vision for a Clean Energy Demonstration, Innovation and Research Park (CEDIR) is focused on advancing low-carbon hybrid energy generation systems, including small modular reactors. That spirit of innovation also shows in the campus’s recent approach to planning and architectural development.
© 2020 KEVIN BELANGER AND HDR
PROJECTS Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) Site Entrance Building, Support and Maintenance Facility, and Science Collaboration Centre, Chalk River, Ontario ARCHITECT HDR, as part of CNL IPD NB Poly Party Team TEXT Leland Dadson PHOTOS Kevin Belanger, courtesy CNL IPD NB Poly Party Team, unless otherwise noted
In February 2020—during simpler pre-pandemic times—I had the rare opportunity to visit the construction sites for a series of three projects by HDR at the Chalk River Laboratories Campus, about 200 kilometres northwest of Ottawa. The innovation taking place at Chalk River relates not only to nuclear energy, but also, surprisingly, to two trends in architecture: mass timber construction and integrated project delivery (IPD) team processes.
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