Nuclear and Molecular Imaging Facility, Health Sciences Centre

Size: 6,040 BGSM (65,000 BGSF)
Location: St. John’s, NL
Client: Eastern Health
Architecture: Gibbons Snow Architects Inc.
Engineering: Stantec (M+E)
Completion: 2018
Sustainability Certification: LEED® Certified® (December 2021)

Gibbons Snow Architects Inc. were hired as Prime Consultants to prepare a functional program, master plan and concepts for a new Molecular Imaging Facility for Eastern Health at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, NL. Again in 2012 the same team were commissioned to prepare a design and contract documents for the new 5,500 sq. m. three story facility which was Substantially Completed in October 2016. Gibbons Snow was the Prime Consultant from programming, through design and contract administration. Sandy Gibbons was the project lead and Greg Snow was the design lead. This new facility is adjacent to the Dr. H Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre at the HSC. The facility contains a cyclotron for producing short life radioactive particles and a radio pharmacy for preparation and distribution of these particles for diagnostic imaging at the centre. The cyclotron must meet strict Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission requirements which we were coordinated with the owner’s specialist nuclear safety specialist located in Berlin. As well, the Radio-pharmacy must meet requirements of Health Canada, which we coordinated with the same specialist. We met with representatives of CNSC and Health Canada in Ottawa along with the specialist licensing agent coordinating our work with his preparation of all regulatory applications. Embedded in this whole process is the equipment manufacturer IBA of Belgium who are manufacturing the cyclotron and radio-pharmacy. The production of these radioactive materials is used in conjunction with eight diagnostic imaging machines including a PET CT and PET MR.

The LEED® certification trademark is licensed in Canada to the Canada Green Building Council® and is used with permission.