UW Quantum-Nanotechnology Centre | 20 m | 5 fl | Approved

[waterloowarrior]

from the daily bulletin

Look! up in the sky! and on stage!

I looked out my office window yesterday morning, and lo, there were two mighty cranes in place at the construction site for the Quantum-Nano Centre in the middle of the main campus. The "tower crane" that's been on the job for some weeks now is being joined by a second of its kind, which was rising yesterday at the tip of a temporary (and more spindly) crane brought in for the purpose. Byron Murdock of UW's plant operations department, who's deeply involved in turning the construction site into a multi-million-dollar research and teaching building, says the height of cranes is customarily measured from their base, well below ground level, so it's hard to come up with a useful number to describe just how tall either machine is. But I'd judge that both are dramatically taller than the campus's usual high point, the machine room atop the Dana Porter Library, at 140 feet (43 metres) above the ground. The photo at left was taken Tuesday morning by Daniel Parent, director of design and construction in the plant ops department.

[rapid_business]

I heard one of the Mammoet operators talking on his cell saying he was installing a 350 yesterday, and off to do some other work later that day. Do you think from sub-grade to peak it could be '350 feet tall? That seems a little tall, but my perspectives may be off.

[notmyfriends]

I think that 350 refers to the ton capacity of the crane

[rapid_business]

Yup, that seems to make more sense.

[Duke-Of-Waterloo]

So, what? Is this like a total of 5 tower cranes for UW at the moment?

2 @ Quantum-Nano
2 @ Engineering 5
1 @ Health Sciences

(don't forget the big red one for the Accountancy building that was there for a while too, but left us not too long ago)

[TripleQ]

Nevermind..

[waterloowarrior]

If you were the dean of mathematics, you could look out your office window (on the sixth floor of the Math and Computer building) and see the view that's pictured at left: the construction site for UW's $160 million Quantum-Nano Centre. Alison Zorian sits in the seat of power nearby, as secretary to dean Tom Coleman, and did the camera work; she reports that her pictures are pretty clear in spite of the inevitable January dirt on the outside of the window.

http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/index.html

[Duke-Of-Waterloo]

I'm surprised no one has gotten around to taking pictures for a while now. Photos taken by me on July 30, 2009.

[waterloowarrior]

Wow.. I look forward to seeing this one rise when I get back to campus

[jcollins]

McGuinty impressed by new Waterloo innovative research centre

August 26, 2009
By Luisa D’Amato, Record staff

WATERLOO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty walked into a half-finished building at the University of Waterloo that’s being built to avoid vibrations and dust particles.

So sensitive is the research into quantum computing and nanotechnology in this new $200-million building that the floors of certain laboratories have to be suspended from above. The concrete supports are extra thick and rigid to withstand vibrations.

Certain rooms have to be clear of disabling dust particles. And the electrical system of each lab will be isolated from all the others to stop a power surge in one from affecting another.

This is what the science of the future requires, and McGuinty praised the project Monday as “exactly the kind of thing that Ontarians are looking for.

“We’re going to create new knowledge here,” he said.

The seven-storey building and equipment, to open in spring 2011, is funded by, among others: Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis, who gave $101 million for quantum computing; the province for $75 million; and the federal government for $29 million.

It will house the Institute for Quantum Computing — the biggest centre of its kind in the world — and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, the largest nanotechnology engineering program in Canada.

Both disciplines are considered to be the leading edge of the technological change in the 21st century.

Nanotechnology is the science of the very small, foreseeing the day when, for example, medication could be delivered precisely to individual cells of the body.

By 2015, it’s estimated the world market for nano-enabled products will be $2 trillion, said Arthur Carty, the institute’s executive director.

Meanwhile, quantum computing foresees infinitely more powerful and secure information processing than we have now. It’s a discipline said to be at the crossroads of physics, mathematics, philosophy, computer science and engineering.

McGuinty asked questions and listened to academics, construction officials and university president David Johnston describe the progress of the building and the possibilities of the technology.

“Everybody looks the same!” he joked, alluding to the sea of goggles, hard hats and safety vests around him as he walked through the site.

ldamato@therecord.com

[Cambridgite]

September 18, 2009

[amor de cosmos]

KPMB has more than just renderings:

Location: Waterloo, Ontario
Size: 285,000 s.f. (approx.) (!!!)
Completion: 2010

The design of the Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) at the University of Waterloo creates a sophisticated platform for research and innovation in the respective fields of quantum computing and nanotechnology. Just as the intricate study of multi-layer nanoscale patterns and quantum physics reveal previously unimagined solutions and insights to the world and universe, the architects engaged the researchers – both theorists and experimentalists – in deep discussions to understand the ways and patterns of their work.

The architectural solution mitigates the specific requirements of the respective scientific practices of quantum computing and nanotechnology with an urbanistic response to the University of Waterloo campus. The IQC and the department of Nanotechnology Engineering each occupy their own ‘building’ and are organized above a shared podium which houses the Metrology Suite and Cleanroom. The podium is clad with burnished concrete block to relate to the primarily masonry campus fabric of the University of Waterloo.

The two components are joined by a linear central atrium that is both an indoor pedestrian route linking the Ring Road to the campus, and an informal space to catalyze exchange between scientists, faculty, students and visitors. Labs are strategically buried below grade to minimize interference from EMI and vibration. The overall massing configures a series of new courtyards. The green roofs of the podium act as an extension of the landscape and reinforce the network of green spaces that distinguish the University of Waterloo’s campus.

The Institute of Quantum Computing (IQC), housed in a ‘bar’ building with an east-west orientation, faces out to the Ring Road to communicate the IQC’s commitment to scientific advancement and innovation through collaboration with public and private sectors. The IQC façade explores the abstract notion of ‘superposition’ with varied readings generated through degrees of transparency and the play of light on its surfaces.

The heart of the IQC is the six-storey atrium with its network of floating stairs. ‘Mind spaces’ – simultaneously lounge, office and meeting rooms – are organized around the atrium and a cafeteria/kitchen on the second floor reinforces the theory that food and drink are essential catalysts for interdisciplinary interaction. A series of back-painted glass white boards reflect light and provide the scientists with writing surfaces for capturing spontaneous ideas. A highly flexible multipurpose space is located on the ground floor to accommodate a range of internal and external events and conferences.

The Nanotechnology Engineering research ‘box’ faces back to the campus. The plan is based on a traditional laboratory building layout. A hexagonal honeycomb steel lattice distinguishes the exterior elevation as a symbolic framework for the research within. The pattern was inspired by the fundamental building block of nanotechnology – the intrinsically stable hexagonal carbon structure – to achieve support and mitigate the impact of the Nano volume on the cleanroom below.

Project Team
Marianne McKenna (partner-in-charge), Mitchell Hall (associate-in-charge / design architect), Glenn MacMullin and Lucy Timbers (project architects), Nic Green, Roland Ulfig, Deborah Wang, Ramon Janer, Olga Pushkar, Omar Gandhi, Takuma Handa, Garth Zimmer, Thom Seto, Collin Gardner, Virginia Fernandez, Lilly Liaukus

Consultants
HDR Architecture Inc. (laboratory consultants), Halsall Associates Ltd. structural engineers), H.H. Angus & Associates Ltd. (mechanical & electrical engineers), Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (civil engineers), Chung & Vander Doelen Engineering Ltd. (geotechnical engineers), NAK Design Group (landscape architects), Martin Conboy Lighting Design (lighting consultant), Leber Rubes Inc. (fire and life safety consultant), Aercoustics Engineering Ltd. (acoustical consultant), Colin Gordon & Associates (vibration consultant), RWDI Inc. (wind consultant), Vitatech Engineering (EMI / RFI consultant), Engineering Harmonics (audio visual consultant), CM2R (cost consultant)

http://www.kpmbarchitects.com/index....arx=&maxyearx=

i read that although it isn't really tall as far as highrises go, it's being built down to the bedrock anyway because of the sensitive nature of the work that will be done there. & there will be space for ~400 scientists, 200 from IQC & 200 from WIN!

[smably]

It really is huge project. It'll be the third-largest single building on campus when it's completed (after MC and DC). I suppose it's actually more like a 9-storey building, with the bottom two storeys underground.

[Waterlooson]

Originally Posted by amor de cosmos

KPMB has more than just renderings:

http://www.kpmbarchitects.com/index....arx=&maxyearx=

i read that although it isn't really tall as far as highrises go, it's being built down to the bedrock anyway because of the sensitive nature of the work that will be done there. & there will be space for ~400 scientists, 200 from IQC & 200 from WIN!

To reach the bedrock, I think you'd have to go down hundreds if not thousands of feet deep.

[taylortbb]

I don't think the plan is to build usable space all the way down to the bedrock, that's obviously not practical. But it's not uncommon to run supports all the way down to the bedrock for certain special requirements, and these labs would probably qualify.

[rapid_business]

hundreds or thousands of feet? really? I mean I'm no expert on soil composition in the area, but... that seems a little over the top.

[smably]

Yeah, I watched these guys drilling the caissons for a couple of days. They are /very/ deep -- I wouldn't doubt that they're resting on bedrock.

[amor de cosmos]

ok they didn't say bedrock, they said solid ground:

Aside from the tunnel extension, other preparatory work will be done at the future site of the building atop the B2 green, mostly to reroute underground pipes and take soil samples. The actual groundbreaking and primary construction for the QNC will begin in March of 2008, when a hole about 10 metres deep spanning the footprint of the building will be dug, extending through the aquifer until hitting the solid ground underneath. The reason for the foundation of the building being so deep is that the QNC has to be extremely stable to allow for the type of scientific research taking place to be possible. As such, the QNC will have the lowest electromagnetic interference and physical vibrations of any building on campus. Because the foundation is so deep and groundwater is relatively close to the surface at the site, during construction, and indeed after the building is built, pumps will have to be run at all times to keep water from seeping in.

http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/?module...41&format=html

[Cambridgite]

[UrbanGnome]

Construction Updates from April 6, including cladding