BCIT Industrial Network Cyber Security Lab

BCIT’s School of Energy required a fast-track renovation to three existing labs / classrooms to create Canada’s first industrial network cyber security (INCS) lab. The lab will be used to train students in the ever-evolving field of cybersecurity in a controlled environment, in which the learning network has been separated from the institution’s main servers. Students will battle each other through simulated cyber attacks and defenses in a network environment similar to those found in real-world industrial, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure organizations.

This new 1,500-sq ft lab consists of two spaces: a central teaching lab area, and a server room that is accessible and visible from, and directly adjacent to, the teaching space. Our scope of work involved repartitioning the space with glazed walls, implementing new finishes, and coordinating structural, mechanical and electrical work, and was completed in 14 months.

Like all Thinkspace projects, we started with a vision / needs workshop with users and faculty to understand the program and intent of the project. As this is the first lab of its kind in Canada, there was no existing model to follow. Through the workshop, we discovered that this had to be a highly functional learning environment, that students needed easy access to the network cabling, and that BCIT wanted to show off this facility to people visiting the building. Those three things became key design drivers.