NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation

The Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation was the first of seven research and development facilities that make up British Columbia's 'Hydrogen Highway'.

The National Research Council wanted a sustainable and creative design which would allow for flexibility of laboratory and office layouts for future changes or re-use.The structural systems were selected to meet the client requirements while minimizing structural cost.

To combat rapidly rising concrete formwork prices, the cast-in-place concrete structure was limited to the research lab areas where vibration control was critical.

In other areas, where the vibration criteria was less stringent, longer span structural steel helps maximize layout flexibility.

We also met the challenge of producing an energy-efficient building by developing details as part of the exterior insulated rainscreen assembly that thermally separate the exterior metal cladding from the supporting wall.Thermal breaks were incorporated in attachments for the metal cladding to reduce heat conduction through the building envelope.Insulation material was chosen to avoid heat degradation behind the metal cladding.