The Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre

Join us in an inclusive and accessible virtual tour and explore the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre before its doors officially open this coming fall. This tour will provide wayfinding for patients, their families and staff, allowing them to navigate and familiarize themselves with the facility from the comfort of their homes. It also gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into state-of-the-art areas that patients and families rarely see.

During construction of Alberta’s newest cancer centre, thoughtful consideration was put into every design element to ensure that this building was not only a place for world-class cancer care, but also a structure that was, in itself, a world-class design.

One particularly unique feature is the cantilevers that extends from each end of the tower providing spectacular views from patient rooms and treatment spaces. A cantilever is a rigid object that is fixed at one end and extends out over empty space. Examples include airplane wings, shelves, some bridges, and now, the Arthur Child.

“Creating a strong connection to nature and the centre’s central courtyard and shaping the building to celebrate that relationship was very important to us,” says Diego Morettin, Design Partner from Dialog, referring to a unique feature of the Arthur JE Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Calgary. “The cantilevers signify the gateway to the campus and frames the entrance, as if almost to say, this is a different place.”

The lower five podium levels surround the courtyard on all sides, to provide garden areas that can be accessed by patient, staff and community. The cantilevered tower is L shaped providing unobstructed views of the mountains and downtown. It is clad in colourful aluminum panels that change in hue and colour as the quality of light changes through the seasons.

“The design responds to the beautiful foothills landscape and Calgary’s urban context and speaks to the relationship between nature and building in a strong way,” adds Morettin.

Adrian Lao, Coordinating Professional and Architect of Record from Dialog, commented on the technical challenge of achieving the cantilever, “From a distance, the cantilever extends a beautiful, welcoming gesture. However, creating this gesture was not easy.”

“Building it without visible support from the ground required a precise approach with the concrete superstructure unfolding in two steps—first to build the main tower, followed by adding cantilever pieces at the ends once the main tower structure was stable. This sequence of construction was an integral part of the detailed technical discussions by the design build integrated team, to achieve success.

During construction, a significant moment occurred when the supports for the concrete formwork of the cantilevered portion was removed. This also allowed the cladding to be applied seamlessly without delaying the process. The risk involved temporarily removing supports from the cantilever, resulting in only a half-millimeter shift—a notable achievement.

A viable strategy for future maintenance and renovations was critical due to the cantilever's height above the ground floor. To address this, a mini-floor layer was designed under the finished floor, allowing easy access to plumbing for fixture repairs and replacements from the occupied floor, without suspending workers in mid-air or needing to access the cantilevered floor from below.

While the anticipation continues to grow to the opening day of this world-class centre, those who have been part of this design and construction will forever be grateful for having the opportunity to work on this building – a building that will provide loved ones, friends, and colleagues with much needed cancer care well into the future.

Throughout Cancer Care Alberta, today is a day to celebrate. Today, marks a major milestone and a moment in history that will never be forgotten.

While in Calgary, teams are continually working hard to prepare the new cancer centre to welcome patients in 2024, the largest donation in Alberta Health Services’ history ­– $50 million ­– was presented to the Calgary Cancer Centre, thanks to the Arthur J.E. Child Foundation.

This is a level of gift that seems insurmountable but will help propel cancer care, education, and research forward. The donation will support the success of the new centre through precision oncology and clinical excellence; attracting and retaining the best and brightest professionals; and capitalizing on emerging opportunities to bring new treatments and research initiatives to Albertans sooner.

In recognition of this historic gift, the Calgary Cancer Centre will now officially be called the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, or The Arthur Child.

In December 2022, the Government of Alberta (Alberta Infrastructure) reached substantial completion of the Calgary Cancer Centre, which allowed them to turn the building over to Alberta Health Services management and operation. Once AHS took over operation, they have a year to get the building ready, work with PCL Construction and AI on fixing any building issues, and work on patient flow, staff training and the acceptance of technology, furniture and equipment. All this is required before the teams can start accepting patients in 2024.

The building from the outside looks complete, but what is happening on the inside? Take a look in this edition of the quarterly newsletter: Building Hope Brief

When designing and building the Calgary Cancer Centre, there were guiding principles that were created and followed to ensure the centre would be setup to provide the best care for patients. Learn more about the Guiding Principles within this two-page design brief.

Integrating research into the new Calgary Cancer Centre will help with early detection and intervention, improve research and drive innovation

Interested in learning about some innovative features within the design at the new Calgary Cancer Centre?