Prairie Technology Center

A three-storey R&D building whose curved glass entrance atrium links two flexible lab wings, engineered for vibration-sensitive equipment.

Brief

House optics labs and open workspace under one roof without letting the services dominate the architecture.

Approach

MEP risers are consolidated into two service spines so lab layouts can change without touching the atrium. The curtain-wall atrium was wind-tunnel checked and modelled to the mullion level.

Outcome

Labs passed vibration commissioning on the first pass; the atrium remains completely services-free.

Photography: Wikimedia Commons (public domain).