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Clark/Gilford, a joint venture of Clark Construction Group, LLC, of Bethesda, Md., and Gilford Corporation, of Beltsville, Md. recently completed a $184 million laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - the largest single construction project since the agency moved to its Gaithersburg, Md. headquarters in 1966. The team constructed one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world, the Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML), at the Maryland campus.
The 536,507-square-foot research facility allows NIST to provide U.S. industry and science with improved measurements and standards. It features stringent controls on particulate matter, temperature, vibration and humidity that are unattainable in current NIST buildings. Such conditions are vital for housing the agency’s most advanced metrology, physics, chemistry, electronics, engineering and materials science research, and enables NIST to keep pace with rapid developments in semiconductors, industrial robots, computers, pharmaceuticals and emerging technologies requiring molecular and atomic-level precision.
Designed by HDR Architecture, Inc. of Alexandria, Va., the AML consists of five sections: two single-floor metrology laboratory sections below ground with 145 modules (for improved vibration isolation and temperature control), two single-floor instrument laboratory sections above ground with 187 modules and one clean room wing above ground. Specialty areas include 48 precision temperature control laboratories (with temperature control ranging from +/-0.1 degrees Celsius to +/-0.01 degrees Celsius) and 27 extremely low-vibration laboratories.
Characteristics are uniform throughout the facility, including strict laboratory air cleanliness assured by HEPA filtration; a baseline temperature control of +/-0.25 degree Celsius; mechanical, electrical, and structural systems designed to minimize vibration; and a power system rated for critical electronic loads and power “cleanliness”. Mechanical services as well as laboratory support equipment are provided through service corridors located between laboratory modules, maximizing flexibility and cleanliness.
In addition to architectural design, HDR Architecture, Inc. provided the civil, mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering design. Earl Walls Associates of San Diego, Calif. was HDR’s laboratory consultant.
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