The Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre’s skylit interior lobby features a real whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling. In Mi’kmaq culture, whales are considered the masters of sea life.Diamond Schmitt/Supplied
A new next-gen science research hub in Moncton isn’t just setting the stage for groundbreaking discoveries – it’s leading the charge on net-zero design and rebuilding decades-long relationships with Indigenous and local communities.
Designed by architecture firm Diamond Schmitt, in association with engineering and design consultants EXP, the forthcoming Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre (ASEC) will transform the existing space into a collaborative, multipartner research facility.
Once complete in 2031, the centre will be one of five Laboratories Canada science hubs that’s home to more than 700 employees from four federal organizations: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and National Research Council Canada.
“The goal is to bring all these science and non-science-based departments together to collaborate and provide them with a facility that encourages and promotes the sharing of knowledge,” says Jody Isenor, regional manager of architecture and engineering resources at Public Services and Procurement Canada.
The site of the futuristic net-zero building has a rich historical background, beginning with the land’s original Mi’kmaq settlers to becoming a boarding school run by the Catholic Sisters of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur.Diamond Schmitt/Supplied
A celebrated heritage
Long before the project started construction earlier this fall, the site’s spirit and commitment to environmental stewardship were palpable through its storied past, beginning with the area’s original Mi’kmaq settlers who cared for the land.
In 1949, the Catholic Sisters of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur started operating a women’s boarding school on the property, before the site was renovated in 1982 to house the Gulf Fisheries Centre, its current occupant.
The building’s historic legacy is what earned its federal heritage designation. But now, that legacy is being reimagined to preserve the site’s origins while accounting for future considerations.
Guided by sustainability
With the Atlantic Ocean at its doorstep, ASEC’s focus is to understand, preserve and protect its coastal ecosystem through sustainable practices.
The facility aims to produce net-zero greenhouse gas emissions partly through its use of on-site geothermal fields, which don’t burn fuel to create electricity. It will also strive to achieve LEED gold certification by using mass timber – which uses minimal fossil fuels during manufacturing – for part of the construction.
In addition to its climate-related goals, ASEC’s sustainable design concept creates spaces that encourage collaboration. There are common areas on each of the five floors for different researchers and non-science-focused staff to connect. In consultation with current employees and future building users, it was clear that they did not want to be placed in silos.
“The scientists brought to us this laboratory neighbourhood concept,” says Peggy Theodore, principal architect at Diamond Schmitt. “The intent is to bring people together based on activity rather than on department.”
Working with Mi’kmaq Elder Noel Millea, Ms. Theodore notes Diamond Schmitt also designed an ‘equal clan system’ that reflects those neighbourhoods and encourages interaction. “The traditional Mi’kmaq Clan system provided a framework to give an identity to different floor levels and lab neighbourhoods,” she says. “These clan associations not only promote cross-collaboration but also provide an opportunity for further education.”
Elder Millea says this collaboration is crucial to save and protect the environment. “All of these clans have to work closely together to make sure the abundance of resources we’re enjoying today is preserved for the next seven generations.”
The Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre is scheduled for completion in 2031 and will be one of five Laboratories Canada science hubs across the country.Diamond Schmitt/Supplied
Rebuilding relationships
Moncton, like much of New Brunswick, is located on the traditional territory of the Maliseet and Mi’kmaq nations.
The Canadian government has said it’s committed to ensuring Indigenous communities benefit from major infrastructure projects like ASEC, which is why local First Nations were heavily involved in the project.
“The project team was open from the outset to spiritual engagement and an ongoing learning process as a way to understand and to reconcile,” Elder Millea says.
In addition to engaging local First Nations, the government also consulted with the building’s original occupants, the Sisters of Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur.
“When thinking about these past, complicated relationships, initially, it was difficult for the project team to grapple with, but with open minds, everyone reconciled in a beautiful and meaningful way,” Mr. Isenor says.
A welcoming space
While ASEC is a research facility first and foremost, it was also important for the project designers to create a public space that was welcoming, inclusive and pays homage to the building’s past.
That’s why the design incorporates the historical façade of the former boarding school into the new, public-facing entryway. Drawing on community consultations, the overall design is also informed by local First Nations culture, with naturally lit open spaces offering places of gathering, learning and collaboration. The use of sustainable materials, like mass timber and glazing, is also intended to evoke feelings of warmth and belonging, creating connections with nature – an important part of First Nations culture.
Visual representations of the Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik and Passamaquoddy nations will be found throughout the new facility and its landscaping. A multipurpose room called Mawiomi, which means “gathering” in the Mi’kmaq language, offers another sacred space for people to connect.
“There were a lot of components to the project,” says Sarah Low, a senior associate at Diamond Schmitt. “The challenge was first to understand them and then to respectfully – and meaningfully – reflect them in the design of the building,”
A skylit galleria and atrium are the centerpiece of ASEC. The first thing visitors and employees will see as they enter the finished building is a real whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling. In Mi’kmaq culture, whales are considered the masters of sea life.
“The whale skeleton represents stewardship of the land and the waters and captures the spirit of this project,” Ms. Theodore says. “Stewardship is dear to the heart of the local Indigenous communities, but also to the researchers that call this building home now and in the future.”