The new three storey Science Research and Innovation Facility (SRIF) was to be designed and constructed on the University of Windsor’s main campus, becoming a point of connection between their current science buildings. The design was to be built adjacent to the existing Essex Hall, which housed much of the University’s science teaching and research facilities including Chemistry, Physics, Materials, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The SRIF facility was envisioned as a regional state-of-the-art research facility, providing student-centered, hands-on training and cutting-edge research for the next-generation of scientists, at both graduate and senior undergraduate levels. The mcCallumSather team was shortlisted along with 3 other teams to provide a design-build solution to strengthen the University’s commitment to Health and Advanced Materials Research. The three-storey facility would house researchers from Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics and Biology in an interactive environment, while additional meeting rooms and laboratories would provide opportunities to strengthen ties between academic research, industrial partners and commercial emerging technologies.

The vision of the building was a contemporary but practical design, implementing modern materials to produce an energy-efficient, sustainable building. The SRIF was to become a flagship for recruitment, enhancing industrial collaborations, housed in an attractive exterior that spoke to the materials flavor conducted within the research facilities.

To continue with the style of the new architecture on campus, this building was designed with transparent qualities to selectively reveal the scientific research taking place within the facility. Aside from reflecting prestige and academic excellence, it also projected an image of progressive modernity, set out with features that positioned the University of Windsor as a place of enlightenment and innovation.