National Installation of Biodefense and Agrodefense
Manhattan, Kan.
Finalist year project
Presented by: McCarthy Building Cos.
Region: ENR Midwest
Owner: US Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate
Main design company: NBAF Design Partnership JV, an association of Perkins&Will, Flad Architects, Affiliated Engineers Inc., WSP and Merrick & Co.
General contractor: McCarthy Mortenson JV, a partnership of McCarthy Building Cos. and Mortenson
MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers Inc. (General MEP Engineer and BSL-3E/EE)
After 17 years of applications, funding discussions, and design and scope changes, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, was delivered by McCarthy/Mortenson. The NBAF enables various government agencies to conduct research, develop vaccines and provide diagnostic capabilities that protect against animal-borne diseases that threaten both the food supply and public health.
“You definitely had to be patient,” says Seth Kelso, Kansas City market leader at McCarthy Building Cos. “We communicated not just as a project team, not just McCarthy Mortenson was going through the changes,” he said. he says “It was our design team, and the Department of Homeland Security team members as well. You have to be nimble enough to react to situations that happen.”
BSL-4 laboratory spaces provide the highest level of biocontainment in the NBAF. NBAF is the only large livestock research facility in the country that provides BSL-4, and its BSL-3 space is one of the few that has windows, but still achieves the second highest level.
Photos courtesy of USDA NBAF Communications
The $1.25 billion, 715,000-square-foot facility includes biosafety level 2, 3, and 4 laboratory spaces, as well as BSL-3 and BSL-4 animal rooms. Placing the facility in the American heartland closer to the farm animals it is designed to protect was an imperative of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, which directed the acquisition and management of all design and construction activities and services required for the project.
DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers provided contract administration support. DHS-S&T chose the McCarthy/Mortsenson JV and the NBAF Design Partnership to manage the project, which was delivered on budget. The veterinary and infectious disease control research now conducted there was formerly managed by New York’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a 65-year-old facility nearing the end of its useful life. Its replacement required the integrated design and construction team to design a research facility that would provide the highest level of biocontainment for larger animals such as cattle.
BSL-4 laboratory spaces provide the highest level of biocontainment in the NBAF. NBAF is the only large livestock research facility in the country that provides BSL-4, and its BSL-3 space is one of the few that has windows, but still achieves the second highest level.
Photos courtesy of USDA NBAF Communications
CM as Builder
The construction manager as builder delivery method allowed DHS-S&T to engage McCarthy/Mortenson early in the design phase and established a culture of teamwork and collaboration. Close coordination within the project team and DHS-S&T directly supported the completion of the construction and commissioning effort as designed and within budget.
“A lot of credit goes to the government officials who administered the contract,” says Kelso. “They really understood the importance of having a builder who has done this type of work before and who is with us at an early stage to help us overcome all the challenges. You have to be able to get constant input from the builder on the constructability and the schedule”. Kelso explains that the project was set up to succeed with the builder, architect, engineers and client working collaboratively from the start.
There were unexpected obstacles. In the middle of the design process, a review by the National Academies of Sciences recommended addressing the potential risks associated with a tornado strike at the facility. The project team and DHS management made the decision to apply to NBAF the same evaluation criteria based on the design of the tornado that would apply to a commercial nuclear facility if it were in the same location near the Kansas State University campus. As a result of this added step, NBAF is the nation’s first biocontainment facility built to Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards for tornadoes.
BSL-4 laboratory spaces provide the highest level of biocontainment in the NBAF. NBAF is the only large livestock research facility in the country that provides BSL-4, and its BSL-3 space is one of the few that has windows, but still achieves the second highest level.
Photos courtesy of USDA NBAF Communications
“Resisting the tornadoes was a bit of a curve ball,” says Kelso. “We were already working with the NBAF design partnership and having that working relationship earlier allowed us to be able to take that curveball and deal with it.”
In the event of a tornado, NBAF can go from full operations mode to static shutdown in seconds, essentially sealing off the facility’s containment level to ensure no pathogens are released. The structural integrity of the interstitial and attic levels of the facility is maintained to protect critical air handling and air filtration components. A shutdown can occur manually or automatically, triggered by sensors that detect the rapid change in atmospheric pressure that occurs during a tornado.
Kelso says that integrated virtual design and construction enabled the coordination and installation of every component, from every conduit pole to every piece of reinforcing steel, and also helped with the procurement of subcontractors for to just-in-time delivery.
BSL-4 laboratory spaces provide the highest level of biocontainment in the NBAF. NBAF is the only large livestock research facility in the country that provides BSL-4, and its BSL-3 space is one of the few that has windows, but still achieves the second highest level.
Photos courtesy of USDA NBAF Communications
