Davis Construction breaks ground on new NIAID property

Federal and local officials wielded shovels recently to signal the start of construction of a new National Institutes of Health-leased facility in the emerging, transit-friendly Twinbrook neighborhood of Montgomery County, Md.

James G. Davis Construction Corporation (DAVIS) and the JBG Companies are building a new home for 2,000 employees of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The new building, designed by Washington architect HOK, will be located at 5601 Fishers Lane in Twinbrook and will complement existing bioscience facilities nearby, which includes NIAID’s 150,000 square feet of laboratories already in the neighborhood.

The new offices will total 490,998 square feet in a 10-story building with two wings of 25,000 square feet each. The installation will feature an atrium entry lobby, a precast and glass exterior and will be certified LEED Silver. There is also a 5-story, concrete parking garage located adjacent to the building. NIAID signed a 15-year lease for its new quarters, which are expected to be completed in 2014.

In conjunction with this development, a new hiker/biker path will be constructed, which will connect the Twinbrook Metro Station to the wide network of trails in Rock Creek Park and beyond. BD+C

Earlier this month, my colleague and I presented a session to a group of civil engineers and transportation agencies about the tech trends in the AEC space. Along with advice on how to prepare your plan for controlled collaboration, we also talked through some practical use cases. One such use case was especially interesting, as it outlined a challenge not unfamiliar to government agencies who are contemplating the leap from paper to digital processes: how to securely migrate workflows.

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