The Vale Living with Lakes Centre officially opened in 2012. For Dr John Gunn, Canadian Research Chair in Stressed Aquatic Systems and Laurentian University Professor, Sudbury’s Vale Living with Lakes Centre is a scientific and economic game-changer for Northern Ontario.

“The Vale Living with Lakes Centre is an incubator of new ideas and approaches for the advancement of environmental science, helping us achieve scientific breakthroughs of global proportions,” according to Dr Gunn. “The environmental research undertaken by this facility will benefit future generations and the center has already become an important scientific, educational and economic asset for Northern Ontario.”

Not only is the award-winning facility demonstrating the best in energy and water saving technologies, the center is also helping to train top young scientists and drive innovation that is helping to create jobs, preserve and protect the environment, and improve our quality of life. Recognizing the important environmental, scientific, economic and social benefits of the initiative at the conception stage, FedNor (a regional development organization in Ontario) invested USD 2 million to help establish the research center on the shores of Lake Ramsey, resulting in further significant investments being made by both the private and public sectors in the region.

The design team worked with the client’s core review team to holistically develop design concepts and solutions. There were two mottos that were repeated frequently throughout this process. They were: “Good architecture = good engineering” and “Nobody is as smart as everybody”. From early working meetings that embraced an integrated design approach, a rigorous set of goals were developed. These project goals would go on to become the DNA of the project. They helped guide virtually every design decision as the project moved forward.

With more than 330 lakes located within its boundaries, Greater Sudbury is home to more bodies of water than any other municipality in Canada, proving to be the perfect fit for Living with Lakes. Established in 2008, the center is host to Laurentian University’s Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit, which has helped Living with Lakes to become an internationally renowned research and monitoring facility that studies the impacts of human activities on lakes, streams and wetlands, as well as the effects of restoration techniques in Northern environments. The center has since helped double the research capacity of the Co-operative Freshwater Ecology Unit, while creating more than 30 new high-quality jobs in Northern Ontario.

The form and layout of the buildings were generated from the site topography and echo the shoreline of Ramsey Lake. Northern Ontario is reflected in the palette of local materials used throughout the project. The interior spaces provide a beautiful, healthy, and quiet work environment, offering views to the lake. 90% of spaces are naturally day-lit and are provided with natural ventilation. The building has been designed to very high standards for sustainability and is LEED® Platinum Certified.