GOCB Health and Welfare Halifax, NS
DSRA was selected to provide full architectural services in the design of a new laboratory facility for Health & Welfare Canada. A building that "would take the Health Protection Branch into the 21st century" and raise the profile of a little known federal agency. Nestled in a rugged natural site with prominent exposure to commuters traversing the Halifax harbour, the completed building presents a stimulating architectural delight of colour and form that far surpassed our client’s aspirations. The two storey building consists of a Crisis Centre, regional offices, storage, and four state-of-the-art testing /research laboratories. The building was planned on a 6.5m x 7.5m laboratory module - reflected in the organization of column, windows, cladding, and servicing design. The labs were designed with the highest degree of safety integration: served by independent variable volume fume hoods, tray-style concrete floor slabs with up-stands at all penetrations, borosillicate glass waste piping runs, and welded stainless steel ventilation ducting.