RCMP National Forensic Laboratory: A flexible, high-performance lab rooted in nature

As part of a P3 team, we designed a new standalone national forensics laboratory building as part of the RCMP E Division campus in Surrey BC. The 80,000sf building includes office administration space as well as a series of highly specialized labs, such as a firearms lab, biology lab and toxicology lab and associated support spaces. The design takes advantage of the natural forest setting maximizing natural lighting and views to nature even within the laboratory spaces.

The building design is based around the concepts of adaptability and flexibility to allow it to respond to the potential future changes cost-effectively. Rather than overbuilding space, the design team focused on carefully siting the building and designing the building systems to allow for future linear expansion of the laboratory block to the north and the administrative block to the south. We then designed flexible laboratory solutions, using moveable furniture lab benches rather than fixed millwork, and adaptable building systems to accommodate technological change over time.

Article: Sustainable design drives this RCMP National Forensics Laboratory