NRC receives $60M to improve construction research facility infrastructure

The construction division of the National Research Council of Canada has received a $60 million infrastructure project injection from the federal government to improve its research facilities.

The funding will be used to repair and upgrade NRC infrastructure, with nearly $44 million to be invested in eight projects in the National Capital Region. The investment at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technologies, will allow the facility to revamp the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, renewable energy and control testing systems, as well as the intelligent building and smart grid integration technologies. The investment will also allow the Centre to expand its focus from testing and assessing construction technologies to include other construction markets.

Some highlights of the upgrades to the National Research Council facilities in the National Capital Region include:

• Over $1 million toward the renovation and expansion of the Canadian Centre for Housing Technologies. The Centre supports research and technology testing in the Canadian construction sector accounts.
• Over $5 million toward the Uplands Campus facility which houses the NRC Wind Tunnel.
• Over $5 million toward revitalizing 100 Sussex. Once coined the “temple of science,” the federal heritage building currently houses research laboratories and administrative offices.