Advanced Research Complex

Construction of a Five-Storey Building

Our team successfully completed the construction of University of Ottawa's brand new 14,000 m², five-storey Advanced Research Complex (ARC). We demonstrated ingenuity, flexibility and expertise, meeting the many challenges of a tight schedule, limited budgets, vibration issues, limited space and a bustling campus.

The building will serve as a teaching and research centre in the areas of environmental analysis and photonics, housing the following rooms and instruments:

• Classrooms.
• A clean room for laser testing.
• Cold rooms and laboratories dedicated to inert gas research and analysis of glacial specimens.
• Canada's only accelerator mass spectrometer, a $3-million instrument for kinetic energy conversion.

Following the construction of the Advanced Research Complex (Phase 1), we initiated Phases 2 and 3, including the development of the third floor (3,700 m²). We also integrated new laboratories, including a geochemistry laboratory and a clean room.

Protecting Sophisticated Research Equipment

We had to protect research instruments that are highly sensitive to vibrations. We were meticulous and innovative in achieving this feat: we implemented extensive anti-vibration measures and installed four raft slabs to house these specialized instruments.

Tight Budgets and Deadlines

To complete the project on time and on budget, we applied our preferred Lean approach.

Restricted Site Access

We successfully completed the project despite space constraints (downtown location, students and staff on campus and operational buildings nearby) with a "just-in-time" delivery system that minimized the amount of materials on site at all times.

Rolling out the Project in Phases

Since researchers had to move into the complex and begin their research before the construction was complete, we adopted a flexible approach and rolled out the project in phases.