Haynes Whaley’s latest Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory project was recently featured in the Spring 2009 edition of Gilbane Construction’s “Bulletin”. Our firm provided the structural engineering services for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland. This recently completed project was the first new facility built for the Department of Homeland Security. Along with Gilbane Construction, we worked with Perkins + Will (Atlanta and Houston), Affiliated Engineers, Inc., ccrd partners, and other national firms on this critical project. The mission of this facility is to serve as the lead lab with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in the event of a bioterrorist attack on this country.
This was Haynes Whaley’s third BSL-4 project. Our previous experience with the unique construction requirements for high-containment lab areas was a great benefit to this effort. As an example, we were able to reduce the concrete curing requirements for the concrete containment walls based upon our experience with the two previous projects. NBACC presented many other unique structural design challenges, including the ability to resist progressive collapse and the use of a micropile foundation system.