The National Research Council (NRC) is planning the permanent home of the new National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton, Alberta. The $40-million facility will be created by a partnership between the Government of Canada through the NRC, the Government of Alberta, and the University of Alberta. The building will be built to a silver-level LEED certification as specified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility will provide space for the synthesis of new materials and the integration of nanotechnology with microtechnologies to make practical systems. Features of the building include "quiet" labs and labs for chemical and biochemical synthesis and analysis of the material structure at the atomic scale, as well as a Class 1000 cleanroom for the production of nanostructured systems.
The NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology will occupy four floors of the 20,000-square meter, six-story structure to be built on the campus of the University of Alberta. The facility will also house nanotechnology-related research space for the University. Accommodating 120 NRC staff and up to 45 guest workers from industry and universities, the institute will accommodate training opportunities for approximately 275 graduate and post-doctoral researchers.
The project team consists of Atlanta-based firms Chos Evamy Partners as architect and PCL Maxam as construction manager. Construction is slated to begin in August 2003 and reach completion in two years.
