Atlanta Laboratory Relocation - Food & Drug Administration

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was in need of a space that allowed for continuity of operations, provided state-of-the-art laboratory spaces, and accommodated multiple FDA programs in a single building. Given our established relationship and expertise with their needs and standards, they knew they could trust Henderson Engineers to help bring such a facility to life. The new laboratory will be home to microbiology, chemistry, tobacco, and nutrition programs. With the variety in laboratory types, equipment and system requirements were unique for each space.

A unique component of the design involves the integration of controls. The building automation system monitors non-standard systems such as electrical ground fault, microbulk laboratory gases, lab gas manifolds, etc. Because this is an existing building, coordination around its structure is complicated and requires a customized approach to routing our designs around and through the existing structures. The primary solution was an MEP utility mezzanine. The air handling units and primary system distribution are routed on the interstitial floor, allowing the lab space to fit within a compact floor to floor structure.

Some of the specialty systems include mass notification, emergency radio response, purified water and specialty gas, exhaust, and power, dust collection, HAZMAT exhaust, and UVC lighting within recirculating systems for virus and bacteria mitigation.