USB Chemistry Lab Redevelopment

location 
200 Ave. de la Cathedrale,
Saint-Boniface,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA

client 
Université de Saint-Boniface

consultants 
S / KGS Group
M / KGS Group
E / KGS Group

contractor 
M Builds

area 
2,560 sf

cost 
$3.3 Million

status
Completed 2023

The Université de Saint-Boniface engaged Prairie Architects to modernize their existing chemistry teaching laboratory, research laboratory, and chemical storage room in order to meet the needs of their expanding program. From the conception of the project, Prairie collaborated with the teaching staff and the facility's maintenance staff to design a laboratory that met the needs of all users.

This new laboratory optimizes student work space, features all new casework and fume hoods, laboratory and research equipment, and prioritizes accessibility and the health and safety of the students and professors. The newly redeveloped accessible space features multiple "service pod" lab stations, student workstations, including one fully accessible workstation complete with an accessible fume hood, and a professor’s teaching station. Student work stations are designed to be more ergonomic and to facilitate the sharing of communal equipment between groups while allowing increased visibility between students and the professor to assist in enhancing the learning experience.

The teaching laboratory was established around four centrally located island workstations each with four pairs of students and complete with three sided glass teaching fume hoods, a preparation work surface, access to vacuum, gas, water and a television screen connected to the professor’s teaching station for experiments to be digitally broadcast to all student stations. The research laboratory provides opportunity for multiple users and research projects to be underway at once with four workstations, two fume hoods, and numerous preparation work surfaces and laboratory equipment. The research laboratory is visually connected to the adjacent corridor to showcase the research and state-of-the-art laboratory. The project included a complete roof replacement along with all new rooftop exhaust fans and infrastructure to support the new fume hood exhaust demands as well as a new rooftop make-up air unit to maintain a comfortable indoor environment.