Natural Resources Canada Investing in Mass Timber Building at Chalk River Laboratories Site

Natural Resources Canada (NRC) is making a nearly $4 million (CAD) investment towards a series of mass timber buildings being constructed at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s Chalk River Laboratories. In 2017, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) engaged HDR to develop a master plan to help revitalize the Chalk River Laboratories site, which is approximately 3,700 hectares in size and consists of more than 300 existing buildings. The series of projects is the largest to be delivered utilizing IPD in Canada. They include a mass timber logistics warehouse to serve as the new public face of CNL, a mass timber support facility to house maintenance and manufacturing activities in a centralized location, a mass timber business hub to provide flexible, integrated space for the engineers and staff, and an Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Building that includes flexible laboratory space and administrative and support space. According to the NRC, projects like this will help Canada achieve its 2030 climate change goals by finding effective ways of building sustainably with Canadian wood products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.