The northwest corner of The Johns Hopkins Medical Institution's campus was previously comprised of surface parking. The University wanted to extend the perception of the campus and improve the identity of this zone to serve as a "front door" for faculty, visitors, and staff traveling from downtown Baltimore. The Bunting-Blaustein Building and a companion Comprehensive Cancer Center were sited and designed to create such an identity, enhanced by green space and pedestrian walkways. The proximity of the two buildings promotes ongoing interaction between cancer research and patient care.

The Bunting-Blaustein Building replaces outdated laboratories constructed more than twenty years ago when the Oncology Center first opened its doors. The ten-story structure is composed of five laboratory floors, each two stories high to provide interstitial areas with towers of ten single-story office floors anchoring each corner of the building.

The fundamental element of the building's flexible design is modularity. To the greatest extent possible, the fixed elements of structural frame, planning modules, and basic utility locations are designed to accommodate many different requirements. As alterations in use are called for by changes in research direction or organization, partitions can be relocated, doors moved, and rooms expanded into larger rooms or contracted into several smaller rooms, without requiring reconstruction of structural or building utility systems. The interstitial design allows for space above the laboratories to accommodate utilities and allows regular maintenance and major renovation without disruption to the research occurring below. The interstitial floors also house additional faculty and graduate student offices, which are linked to the main lab floors by stairs located in the interaction spaces on each floor.

To facilitate interaction among the researchers, offices are grouped at the north and south ends of the building, taking advantage of natural light and views of the campus and downtown Baltimore. Most laboratory support spaces and spaces for casual interaction are shared. Two-story break rooms and their adjoining open staircases are designed to link the laboratory and office levels. A variety of alcoves and recesses at the ends of corridors, near offices, and common areas provide additional places for impromptu conversation.