Two ``F-shaped" laboratory wings, clamped around a central core, will create  ``neighborhood" groupings of standardized lab modules to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Flexibility in the fit-out of laboratory modules and support rooms is achieved using a menu of design options (or ``kit-of-parts") that allows researchers and staff to customize the spaces for their particular needs. Support rooms, at the end of the laboratory modules along the service corridor, can be plugged in- or out- or combined-with laboratories. Seven to eight ``double-duty" circulation aisles will be located between the lab benches and perimeter workstations. Partial interstitial mechanical levels above each laboratory floor allow overhead distribution of utilities to lab benches. Interstitial levels ending at lab benches permit natural light into the double-height workstations along the perimeter walls; break rooms and corridor locations have continuous four- and five-story vertical glass enclosures for additional natural light. Generic laboratories will be provided for Directors to support short-term occupancies; supporting office space will accommodate the headquarters for two of the Institutes. A 30,000-sf vivarium will support animal research using transgenic mice and rabbits. Specialty laboratories include a NMR laboratory and an EM suite; the NMR laboratory has seven magnets ranging from 500 mhz to 1 ghz located in a vibration-free pit.  The exterior design responds to nearby historic Georgian Revival buildings, featuring red brick and glass with light-colored precast concrete and metal trim. Deemed an ``imaginative addition" to the NIH campus by the National Capital Planning Commission -- the entity charged with design review of all government buildings within the National Capital Region -- Building 50 enhances the recently approved Revised Master Plan for NIH.

Project Information
Building Owner:		National Institutes of Health
Owner Contact:		Frank Kutlak, Project Officer
Building Location:		Bethesda, MD UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction
Principal Building Function:		Structural and cell biology research
Project Delivery Method:		General Contractor
Project Timeline		Feb 1996 Planning Start May 1996 Design Start Jul 1997 Construction Start Jun 2000 Target Completion
Construction Cost:		$66,837,765
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$258
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Laboratory: Research Office Vivarium
Total GSF:		259,510
Total NSF:		155,706
Efficiency:		60%
Building Population:		509
People Density:		510 gsf/person
Building Services:		Compressed Air, Vacuum, Natural Gas, CO2, N2, LN2, RO water
Special Equip:		NMRs (500 mhz-1 ghz), EMs, x-rayCrystallography
Office Size:		10' x 11' NSF
Power Req:		20 watts/nsf Lighting 1.7 watts/nsf Receptacles 3.3 watts/nsf Equipment 6.3 watts/nsf Mechanical 7.9 watts/nsf Misc. 0.8 watts/nsf
HVAC Req:		Laboratory: 3 cfm/nsf Vivarium: 4 cfm/nsf
Structure/Foundation:		Post-tensioned concrete with caisson foundations
Laboratory Parameters
Lab Module:		11'x 33'
Casework Mat'l:		Standard metal (some rolling cabinets) with epoxy resin countertops
Fume Hoods:		Fifty-one 5 foot (1650mm)
Biosafety Cabinets:		54 BSCs, class II-types A&BII
Project Team
Consultant - Geotechnical		Schnable Engineering Associates
Profile Created 10/01/1998
Last Updated 07/14/2008
About the Reported Cost Figures The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments. Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.