2005-12-08 12:05:31

WATERLOO, Ont., Dec. 8 - The University of Waterloo has awarded the commission to design a new $70-million facility for Quantum Computing and Nanotechnology to Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) of Toronto, with laboratory specialists HDR Architecture, Inc.

The combination of KPMB, one of Canada's leading architectural practices, with HDR, a firm with special expertise in nanotechnology laboratories, quantum computing and clean-room facilities, will ensure creative design solutions for all elements of the groundbreaking project.

KPMB was selected from more than 20 teams vying to design the new state-of-the-art building. The 225,000-square-foot (20,903-square-metre) facility will be strategically sited to facilitate interaction between the disciplines of engineering, science and mathematics.

The project will proceed under the direction of Marianne McKenna, principal-in-charge, and Mitchell Hall, design architect, both of KPMB. McKenna and Hall have previously collaborated on the internationally acclaimed Jackson-Triggs Winery at Niagara-on-the-Lake and the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre. HDR's direction will come from Ahmad Soueid, senior vice-president and principal for a prestigious list of award-winning nanotechnology and quantum computing projects.

"The university is pleased to engage KPMB and looks forward to the realization of our dream to create a centre that will be the finest expression of design anywhere and will house what will emerge as the finest cluster of quantum computing and nanotechnology researchers, teachers and students in the world," said David Johnston, UW president.

"As universities compete for the best students, faculty and scholars, it is critical to create a facility that complements the high-quality academic program of the University of Waterloo and offers a state-of-the-art facility for both teaching and research in quantum computing and nanotechnology," KPMB's McKenna said. "We are excited by the challenges and opportunities of this project."

"Advanced technology projects of this calibre present unique challenges," said HDR's Soueid. "HDR has completed numerous projects that provide the best possible environment for researchers working in emerging research fields. We look forward to providing creative design solutions for the laboratories and clean rooms."

Hall added: "We envisage an architectural response that expresses the revolutionary nature of nanotechnology and quantum research within the context of the University of Waterloo's research program. At the same time, we will study how the new building can continue the existing network of courtyards that distinguish the campus and how linkages can be created to adjacent faculties."

About Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB)

KPMB is one of Canada's most respected architectural practices. The studio is devoted to design excellence and has developed a broad portfolio encompassing academic, civic, corporate, cultural, mixed-use, hospitality and residential projects located across North America as well as in Europe. In 2005, KPMB was selected Firm of the Year by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. KPMB's projects in the Kitchener-Waterloo region include the Kitchener City Hall and the Grand Valley Institution, both recipients of Governor General's Awards. The UW centre will build on KPMB's previous innovations in laboratory and educational facility design. KPMB's recent science projects include the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre in Montreal, the James Stewart Centre for Mathematics at McMaster University, which received the prestigious 2005 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Award of Honour, the Faculty of Engineering/Computer Sciences and Visual Art at Concordia University, and the Centennial HP Science and Technology Centre for Centennial College.

About HDR Architecture, Inc.

HDR, based in Virginia, is a world leader in the design of facilities for emerging fields such as nanoscale research, high-accuracy metrology, materials research, nanofabrication, nanoscale biotechnology and quantum computing. HDR has designed or consulted for a prestigious list of laboratories and universities in the United States and abroad, including the Advanced Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards & Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.; the Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.; the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M.; the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y.; and the National Physical Laboratories, Department of Trade & Industry in the United Kingdom.

About Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is widely considered one of the most important new areas of technological research in the world. It involves harnessing the power of atoms and building quantum computers with transistors of atomic size. Scientists believe the technology will aid major new discoveries including unbreakable cryptography, unparalleled high precision measurement devices, computers with immense power and better understanding of the microscopic world.

About Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology engineers and scientists are involved in the exciting challenge of devising, assembling, manipulating and controlling materials at the atomic and molecular scale to fabricate structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functionality. Applications include ultra-fast and high-memory capacity computers, materials of remarkable strength and cell probes for biomedical investigations.

About UW's Nanotechnology Engineering program

UW's Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with the Faculty of Science, has introduced the first undergraduate Nanotechnology Engineering program in Canada and is enrolling its first students this fall.

Attracting faculty and students of the highest calibre to quantum computing and nanotechnology engineering at UW will give tremendous support to creativity and research output in the field, while also enhancing the capacity of the local, provincial and Canadian economies through infusion of talent, new discoveries and potential commercial spin-offs.

The facility has been given a huge kick-start by means of a $50-million donation from Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis. Lazaridis is the founder and Co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), and UW's chancellor.