Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) floor plans

The main entrance to the station will be at the top right of the station and will lead to twenty-six public parking spaces. The pedestrian marshalling yard, and field and maintenance building will be located to the left of the parking spaces. The pedestrian marshalling yard will serve as additional space for field workers, researchers and others to prepare to go into the field. This can include setting up tents, packing and double checking field supplies.

Above the field and maintenance building there will be two entrances: the garage entrance and the maintenance staff entrance. To the left of the field and maintenance building, there will be field storage and space for future development. Science and technology equipment, vehicles and dry goods will be stored in field storage.

Below the space for future development there will be two housing triplexes. Each triplex will have three units and four bedrooms within each unit, along with common spaces that offer access to wireless internet. There are eight parking spaces allocated for the triplexes, along with housing storage to the left of the triplexes.

To the right of the triplexes will be the main research building. The research building will have two public access entrances at the bottom left of the building and the top right of the building. There will also be a field entrance, bicycle rack and field loading dock at the top left of the building.  There will be twelve snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle parking spaces at the bottom right of the main research building. Directly above the main research building there will be the marshalling yard, which is also located below the pedestrian marshalling yard and the field and maintenance building. The marshalling yard will be a large open space, which allows scientists to wash and dry field equipment, and sort and pack field materials.

To the right of the marshalling yard there will be a public outdoor space, the qaggiq, and eleven preferred parking spaces. The qaggiq will be an outdoor space styled as a communal igloo, which will welcome staff and guests to the station. Community activities can also be conducted here.

Surrounding the site are various sensitive organisms that have adapted to specific environmental conditions (e.g. cotton grass, dwarf shrub, etc.).

The ground floor plan for the main research building is long and linear. A large public access zone wraps around the dedicated science and technology spaces. Facing the Cambridge Bay hamlet, the public access zones will take advantage of the southern exposure to bring in light. The public access zones will foster interaction, conversations, and the exchange and sharing of information.

The ground floor includes laboratories, workshops and offices, as well as support functions such as a kitchen, storage and loading docks. Many of the laboratories will include windows into the corridors to allow visitors to watch the scientists at work.

Main public access will be at top right of the building, leading to the display area, a knowledge sharing centre and a large multi-use space. Another public access entrance will be located at the bottom of the building and will lead to a business incubation space and offices. Office space will be located at the bottom left, and the workshops and laboratories will be located above the office space and directly to the left of the public access area. There will be a field entrance and a field loading dock at the top left of the building.

The second floor includes analytical laboratories, offices and the extensive mechanical space required for the facility.

Meeting rooms and offices will be located at the bottom of the building. Above the meeting rooms will be a general analytical lab and computer geographic information system room. The right part of the building will be open space. To the left of the open space there will be equipment storage, a growth chamber, genomics lab and a multi-use lab. To the left of the growth chamber and general analytical lab there will be an electrical room, fan rooms and various mechanical rooms. There will also be a laundry room in the top left of the building.

The field and maintenance building is a highly functional building that will support field activities and the main research building. Within the building there will be areas for rough processing of field material, for preparation for field work, for storage, and for maintenance and operations.

There are multiple entrances to the field and maintenance building: a main public entrance, a marshalling entrance and a storage garage door at the bottom of the building. There is a boiler room entrance at the far right, and a maintenance garage entrance, field maintenance garage door and maintenance staff entrance at the top left of the building. 

The right portion of the building is allocated to the boiler room, generator room, main electrical room and telecom room. To the left of this section is a diving facility, rock processing room and storage. Directly left of the storage room there is a rough overflow room. Above the rough overflow are stairs, a compost room, hazard waste room and a wood workshop. To the left of the wood workshop there is a maintenance garage. Below the maintenance garage there is equipment storage and the marshalling staging area. To the right of equipment storage, maintenance garage and marshalling staging area is the marshalling closed office and more equipment storage.

The second floor of the field and maintenance building includes logistic and maintenance offices, a telecom room, a janitorial closest, washrooms, a kitchenette and a mechanical room.

The mechanical room is located at the top of the building. Directly below it are the kitchenette, bathrooms, and a janitorial closet. The logistics and maintenance offices are located below the janitorial closet. Above the office space there is also a telecom room.