General Services Administration
US Food and Drug Administration Life Sciences Laboratory
White Oak, MD
130,000 SF
Representing the first phase of the 3,000,000 SF campus, the Life Sciences Laboratory houses research and analytical testing laboratories for the Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). The four-story facility houses 120 personnel, offices, laboratories, and a 300 MHZ NMR facility. The four above-grade levels are laboratories served by a central service corridor and surrounded by perimeter offices. The structure’s metal panel and glass cladding suggest a functional directness, appropriate for the facility’s purpose of drug research and testing. A brick base and retaining wall anchor the building to the site and establish continuity with the future adjacent office buildings. A sweeping curved wall encloses stairs and conference rooms and creates an emphatic presence for the lab building on the main commons of the new FDA campus.