UBC Quantum Matter Institute
Size 5,366 SM / 57,759 SF
Recognition 2018 AIBC Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Innovation Award
The Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (QMI) houses an interdisciplinary group of researchers that study phenomena at the atomic scale. Situated in the Applied Science Precinct of the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus, this slender, corner addition is both a gateway and a connector. The QMI creates a new portal to the precinct, serves as a new formal entrance to the Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory (AMPEL) and co-locates quantum researchers for the first time at UBC, creating the potential for research synergies in this potentially groundbreaking field. Just as silicone was the basis of a microelectronics revolution, quantum research could lead to new industries in fields such as electronics, solar energy and medicine.
The QMI creates its own identity while enhancing the integrity of its neighbors. Its white brick cladding mixed with black and grey relates to the campus palette while revealing the yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) crystal lattices that form the foundation for the majority of QMI’s research. The corners of the building have been chamfered as required at building entries and reveal a crystal structure of corbelled masonry. As if pulled by the giant magnets used in quantum research, all of the bricks align from north to south.
Most quantum researchers will tell you the best place to carry out research is underground because vibrations from sources as insignificant as a footstep can destroy the controlled environment required for experiments. QMI has four underground vaults and a series of above-ground laboratories that provide a range of precise controls over the environment. To ensure the vibration performance of these predictable spaces, the entire building is decoupled from its site with isolation pads and absorptive membranes below grade. Above grade laboratories are stacked in a reinforced concrete structure designed for rigidity.
While quantum experiments flourish in vacuum chambers, the growth of quantum ideas does not. Integration between researchers is essential for new discoveries. Taking inspiration from the YBCO crystal lattices – “the interfaces are where things get interesting,” according to one researcher – the building fosters a fluid work flow by laminating predictable lab space with unpredictable offices, meeting rooms and multi-floor lounges. Every time QMI users enter or leave a floor, they are momentarily taken out of their routine as they pass through a gathering space that skews and transforms the pragmatic. These gathering spaces are located at the junctures where the QMI and AMPEL meet, becoming platforms for social interaction and the cross-pollination of ideas.
The UBC Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute is LEED Gold certified. Laboratories are energy intensive buildings due to the precise environmental controls required for research environments. QMI operates 24% below ASHRAE using a high-efficiency, thermal-energy, exchange system supplemented by the university’s District Energy System. Heat is recovered from exhaust air with a water heat recovery system. Further reductions are made with minimized laboratory air change rates and fume hood sash management program.
A project innovation worth noting is the helium recycling system. One of the most valuable non-renewable natural resources on earth, helium is used to reach ultra-cold temperatures necessary for subatomic research. The recycling network collects, purifies and re-liquifies helium exhaust for future research.
Because research activities are so varied and its needs impossible to predict, the laboratories are designed to support long-term flexibility, acting as re-configurable stages for new research activities.
The corners of the building have been chamfered as required for site constraints and reveal a crystal structure of corbelled masonry. Like a giant magnet, all bricks on the building align north to south.
Strategically placed windows and an intentionally reduced window-to-wall ratio helped to optimize energy performance, and helped to achieve LEED Gold certification.
The coloured bricks that punctuate the building’s exterior represent molecular latticework of ‘YBCO’ a specific chemical compound developed at QMI that is the foundation for much of its research.
Illustration of a YBCO crystal lattices.
Design elements represent QMI research, the visual interplay of two stair casings produces a Moire pattern, the same pattern seen when viewing graphene surfaces at the atomic level.
Wide, light-filled stairwells encourage use and increased chance of run-ins with fellow researchers.