How IPD and Team Collaboration Catalyzed a Carbon-Literate Campus at CNL
How can integrated project delivery facilitate more informed decision-making around sustainable design solutions? The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) “New Builds” Project provides an excellent case study.
Located along the Ottawa River in Chalk River, Ontario, the “New Builds” is comprised of a suite of three buildings: the Entry Precinct (the Minwamon Building) and the Support Facility and Science Collaboration Centre at the south, non-nuclear half of the Campus Precinct at Chalk River Laboratories. Since 2019, this highly anticipated series of projects has garnered significant accolades and attention as one of the largest Integrated Project Delivery projects in Canada.
Striving to achieve a carbon-neutral campus by 2040, 10 years ahead of Canada’s 2050 mandate to reach net zero, while also celebrating the history of logging along the Ottawa River, CNL was dedicated to collaborating with the entire team to realize a sustainable vision for this campus.
Now, after four years and the completion of three mass timber structures, the whole IPD team is reflecting on the results of this effort. By adhering to the IPD project delivery model and maintaining transparent communication and project values, we were able to guide the client towards their vision of a carbon-literate campus through the innovative and inspiring use of timber, leveraging the unique properties of the material and establishing a trio of ground-breaking facilities.
As we look back on the project delivery process, we can identify some key moments facilitated through IPD that allowed us to both design and deliver these sustainable, cost-effective facilities.
Mass Timber: A Pivotal Decision Supporting Budget and Schedule
Within an IPD model, consistent communication among partners and stakeholders from the project’s outset enables efficient decision-making. While designing all mass timber buildings provoked questions about CNL’s budget and timeline, clear communication helped the project remain within its original timeline and guided the team through the cost-benefit analysis of creating three entirely mass timber structures.
When compared to materials such as steel or concrete, wood can come at a higher cost. While this initially raised some financial concerns, our commitment to the client’s sustainable values led us to develop a live costing model, allowing instant feedback as we undertook a detailed cost analysis between timber, steel and concrete. With input and guidance from various trade partners, the team was able to understand the true benefits of using timber in relation to cost and schedule in real-time.
Ultimately, the costing model revealed that the use of timber incurred only a slight premium for the Support Facility and Minwamon Building due to higher savings on finishes in the warehouses, and surprisingly resulted in a reduced cost for the Science Collaboration Centre.
We found that constructing with timber reduced our construction schedule by 6-8 months while also providing high-quality supply and installation, which is often hard in Chalk River given its remote location. This not only saved time but also demonstrated the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of our approach, providing reassurance to all stakeholders.
Less is More: Communication, Precision in Support of Right-Sizing
The COVID-19 pandemic occurred approximately halfway through the construction of the Minwamon Building, the first building to be constructed, resulting in reduced construction efficiencies, supply chain disruptions and material cost increases across the industry. By using key IPD tools such as weekly Big Room planning sessions, our team was able to keep the project on schedule with minimal cost impacts.
With consistent communication with our partners and clients and knowledge of the precise measurements involved in constructing with timber, we were able to adequately prepare for the project by pre-ordering certain materials. For instance, conversations early in the project revealed price fluctuations for aluminum, incentivizing us to proactively order and store the curtain wall in advance. These IPD tools afforded us the ability to avoid most pandemic-related disruptions or project changes and move ahead with our mass timber plan.
Access to the stakeholders and users through the span of the project also enabled us to understand their project goals and values for each building and adeptly avoid cost increases or schedule disruptions. For example, when the client delivered their desired size for the Support Facility along with the final list of equipment that would need to be included in the facility’s open shops after the concept design was complete, we realized the warehouse would need to be three times the size provided, thus substantially impacting our budget.
While in a typical project, a design team would likely proceed with this request without further discussion, our access to and collaboration with the users allowed us to locate duplication, efficiencies and overlap that would reduce the footprint of the space and stay within the budget.
Similarly, when developing a layout for the Science Collaboration Centre, we were able to collaborate with our engineers and furniture partner to find the optimal column-to-column spacing (e.g., maximum workstation and office spaces), allowing us to remove 15% of floor area from each floor plate, which resulted in significant cost savings.
IPD offered us the time and flexibility to make these decisions with our partners, which substantially reduced construction and material costs, keeping us on track to achieving our sustainability goals.
Specification Innovation: Reallocating Resources for Impact
Within the IPD model, Big Room sessions — where the owner, contractor, design team and key consultants communicate and coordinate project details — are integral to a project’s success. Our CNL Big Room sessions not only led to the ultimate selection of timber as the primary structural material but also served as a guide to several other solutions that contributed to the project’s sustainable successes.
Having a building envelope partner working alongside the architectural team created many opportunities to reduce or shift costs while still meeting the design intent. During the design phase of the Science Collaboration Centre, we initially decided to install insulated spandrel panels at the floor level of each floor on the north façade, which, in addition to the insulated spandrel panel, would require interior studs, drywall and paint.
While this decision would have likely been uncontested with a traditional delivery model, guidance from our envelope partner suggested that by removing the insulated spandrel panel and interior finishes and replacing them with typical glass vision panels with solid frit, the money saved could afford our team triple glazing versus the current double glazing. The triple glazing on the north facade was key in achieving our energy targets and ultimately reducing long-term costs at CNL.
What Mattered Most: Prioritizing the People
While the IPD model provided the framework for delivering the "New Builds" successfully, the true success of these three projects is due to the commitment and passion each person brought to the project. We believe that having the right team is vital to project success — and the CNL "New Builds" proves this. Our team collectively created an open environment focused on core project values.
With this type of efficient collaboration amongst a dedicated team supported by the use of lean delivery tools, we could successfully design, build and deliver these remarkable mass timber structures — a testament to the power of passionate people working together towards a common goal of success and a more sustainable future.
Our IPD partners at CNL:
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Ltd. CNL
Sullivan Chandos (CNL) JV Corp.
LEA Consulting Inc.
Introba (formally Integral Group Engineering)
Jp2g Consultant Inc.
Nordic Structures
JMR Electric
Flynn Canada Ltd.
Marcantonio Constructors Inc.
Siemens Canada Ltd.
ABI Advanced Business Inc.
