In line with the aggressive expansion goals of the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), a new, expanded building for the Institute is on the way. The IQC building will be at the heart of the UW campus and be part of the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) at the University of Waterloo (UW). Presently under construction, the centre will be the most sophisticated building at the University to date. The ground was broken in 2008 and the building should be completed at the end of 2010.

Currently housed in the UW Research Advancement Centre, the IQC boasts 17 faculty members, 20 postdoctoral fellows, over 73 students and research assistants and a support staff of 10. The new IQC building will accommodate the expansion of the Institute to 30 faculty, 50 postdoctoral fellows and 125 students by 2010. The new facility will also include a suite of clean and metrology rooms that are necessary for IQC's experimental program.

The design of the new building was guided by three principles: 1) It needed to be functional and in particular adhere to stringent requirement related to temperature control, low vibration and electromagnetic radiation; 2) Induce interaction between members of IQC; and 3) Serve as an attractor.

The first part was made possible by having HDR Architects Inc. as the technical architects. HDR is a firm that has built many technical facilities such as NIST in Gaithersburg and the Nanotechnology building in Purdue. The building will include a suite of laboratories for research in quantum optics, NMR and ESR, quantum dots, superconducting qubits, coherent spintronics and quantum cryptography. It will also be adjacent to a new fabrication and metrology facility resulting from a successful IQC CFI application.

The second element was motivated by one of the basic elements of science that is being developed at IQC. This is a multidisciplinary approach that brings mathematicians, computers scientists, chemists, physicists and engineers together. The idea of the building has been adapted from Étienne-Louis Boullée's Cénotaphe de Newton, providing a focal point that links all locations of the building. In the IQC building, an atrium at the center of the building will allows interactions between members of the Institute.

Finally, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), the design architects, have developed a concept that encircles the atrium by a mirage of floating stairs leading to lounges, offices and meeting rooms. Each hallway and interaction space will showcase an array of back-painted glass white boards, reflecting light and providing the canvas for researchers to document their thoughts in a unique fashion. The ground floor, having a large open colloquium space, will be perfect for hosting both internal and external events and conferences. The building will also strive to be an extension of the landscape that distinguishes UW’s campus by including a series of new courtyards and green rooftops.

The IQC's 125,000 square feet will provide office space for faculty and graduate students, research laboratories, fabrication and testing facilities, seminar and lecture rooms, numerous interaction spaces, and a research seminar room which will accommodate up to 200 people. The first of its kind in the world, the building will provide the space to nurture research, discussion and instruction in the exciting fields of quantum information and nanotechnology engineering.

The centre is to be located in the heart of the University campus, surrounded by the Ring Road, the Student Life Centre, the Mathematics and Computer Building and the Biology II Building. Bridging the physical gaps between Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science and Science faculty buildings, the centre promises to promote the interdisciplinary nature of the research within.

Started in June 2008, the most complex scientific facility the Unversity of Waterloo has commissioned will cost $160 million and is scheduled for completion by 2011. Funding for the project comes from a generous personal donation from Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis, as well as from the Province of Ontario and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Location	University of Waterloo - Main Campus
Size	125,000 sq. ft.
Cost	$80 million
Features	200 capacity research seminar room 50,000 sq. ft. laboratory space Metrology suite Class-100 ad class-1000 clean fabrication facilities Vibration isolation Electromagnetic shielding
Architect	Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg(KPMB) Architects
Construction	Aecon Group Inc.
Technical Planning and Design Specialists	HDR Architects Inc.
Structural Engineers	H.H. Angus and Associates
Mechanical and Electrical	Conestoga-Rovers and Associates (CRA)