Western University, Biotron Environmental Research Facility

Western University Biotron Environmental Research Facility

The Biotron Environmental Research Facility is a collaborative initiative between Western University and the University of Guelph. A unique, purpose built facility, the Biotron houses specialized environmental chambers, laboratories and equipment dedicated to research in the fields of environmental sciences, biotechnologies, materials and biomaterials, and engineering. Western offers the facilities and services at the Biotron to researchers and clients from university, industry and government, and encourages inquiries from anywhere in the world. New communication technologies are integrated into the building and research culture that create opportunities for interdisciplinary research collaborations with individual researchers and remote locations.
 
The first floor consists of earth science labs including biomes for the study of soil monoliths.  The second floor includes microbiology and insect laboratories. The third floor contains an imaging center and transgenic plant facility including provisions for Bio-Safety Level 3 research.  Perched on the roof is a glass-enclosed greenhouse structure that supports the creation of mini-ecosystems to study the effects of variable criteria in a controlled manner. 

This project was completed in association with Perkins+Will (Boston).