CDC's Building 18

McCarthy Building Cos. is building $160 Million Emerging Infectious Diseases Lab

By Debra Wood

Whenever a new or emerging infectious disease breaks out, American and global public-health officials turn to experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for help. Four years ago, the CDC embarked on a 10-year master plan to update and expand its aging facilities to meet the growing demand. Many scientists at the center will soon operate out of a new, secure building at the agency's Atlanta compound.

As naturally occurring diseases and bioterrorism events threaten public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta stands ready to investigate and advise. A new $160 million emerging infectious disease laboratory, Building 18 at the Roybal Campus, will provide safe, modern space for scientists unlocking microbial mysteries.

"This is one component of our long-term master plan and will serve our high-containment needs for CDC for the foreseeable future," said Stephen C. Milby, facility program manger for the National Center for Infectious Diseases.

The new laboratory will house more than 450 scientific personnel working on multiple research activities and include biosafety levels 2, 3 and 4 laboratories with adjacent office and support areas for glassware storage.

Laboratories are classified by the safety requirements required for people to work in them. Biosafety level 1 is the lowest, 4 the highest. In a biosafety level 2 lab, workers typically handle pathogens they could already have been exposed to, such as hepatitis. A level 3 lab is used to work with agents that may cause more serious disease or death. Level 4 labs enable researchers to work with extremely dangerous bacteria and viruses. It will bring to five the number of such labs in North America.

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"There are few level 4 laboratories in the world, and this will be a first-class, state-of-the-art facility that's very complex," Milby said.

The cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete structure will tie into the existing laboratory building. The exterior is precast concrete and glass, and at lower levels, stacked sandstone.

The project includes construction of a new, three-level, 48,000-sq.-ft. central utility plant to supply Building 18 and other structures on the main campus. The architectural/engineering team includes CUH2A, KSI Structural and Smith Carter USA for high-containment engineering, all located in Atlanta. Current CDC employees consulted with the design team.

McCarthy Building Cos. of St. Louis, construction manager as contractor (CMC), began working on the 12-story, 370,000-sq.-ft. building in September 2001. CMC is similar to construction manager at risk.

Bud Guest, McCarthy vice president for research and development, said that after a selection process, his company received the job based on its qualifications and experience building other research laboratory projects.

Larry Van Houten, senior project manager with McCarthy, expects to complete the project on time next February. The building topped out in September 2003 and was 85 percent complete in February 2004.

"It wasn't really a fast-track job, but a lot of things had to happen quickly," Van Houten said. "Coordination was key, through the drawings, through mock-ups, so when we got to construction there was minimal come-back and remedial work."

CDC began seeking a guaranteed-maximum price contract with 45 percent of the construction documents ready. McCarthy participated in value engineering. At start of construction, McCarthy had 60 percent of the documents. It received special packages for structure and footings.

"Having the CMC on board to work with architects and designers was a big part of the process," Milby said. "We retained the CMC and AE at approximately the same time. And the CMC was heavily involved in the predesign and design process."

A level 4 lab requires special equipment and techniques to create an absolute airtight environment. McCarthy developed a special concrete mix and extensively tested it, including building full-scale mock-ups to assess variables, such as temperature.

"There are a lot of challenges, and the concrete is a big one," Van Houten said. "The curing is a wet cure for an extended period of time so it reaches maximum strength and minimizes cracking."

Crews had poured all of the concrete walls by mid-February, but patching and cold testing continued. Applying a special coating is the next step.

Mechanical systems are complex, too. Plumbing requires decontamination and containment for liquid waste. All conduits must be sealed. A breathing air system supplies oxygen to workers' suits. Redundancies have been built in.

The mechanical system for the level 4 is based on an interstitial floor. No maintenance can take place while the lab is hot, which lasts for extended periods.

"That's a reason we located mechanical systems and everything that needs to be touched by a maintenance person outside the lab enclosure, so maintenance personnel can maintain the system without entering the lab," said Van Houten.

The level 2 and 3 labs also require extensive mechanical systems. Mechanical galleries on each floor will hold control systems for exhaust and supply. By putting them on the same level, it reduced floor height and construction cost.

"[Construction has been] pretty common to a normal high-tech building, like a health-care facility, but there was a lot more coordination of everything than in a normal hospital," Van Houten added.

Every component is tested individually and systems are checked as the project progresses. And for six months after acceptance by CDC, the agency will conduct extensive operational testing before allowing scientists to use the lab.

"Construction tolerances and testing are much tighter," Milby said. "We do a pressurization test where we pressurize the lab, and it has to maintain a seal for a certain amount of time."

The building has a caisson and spread-footing foundation. The site has quite a bit of variation in elevation and rock, and during excavation, crews hit rock. It is on a hillside, and some of the floors are exposed on one side and buried on the other.

"We did have to make some changes in footing type," Milby said. "We went from more spread footing to more caissons during construction as a reaction to what we found subsurface."

Because the site is located near Emory University and a residential neighborhood, CDC officials have attended homeowners association meetings to keep residents aware of the project's progress.

There is one way into and out of the site. Two other construction projects, a global communication and training center and a new headquarters building, are simultaneously under way adjacent to Building 18.

"It's a logistics nightmare to get our materials in and out," Van Houten said.

All parking is offsite, and the 225 average daily workers are bused in. Schedules have been built around neighborhood commuters and start and stop times for the adjacent jobs. McCarthy is working double shifts.

Security is tight, but officials would not divulge the processes used.