Biologics Regulation and ResearchThe People and Work of Buildings 29 & 29A

Building 29, the NIH Division of Biologics Standards (DBS) Laboratory, is nationally significant to the history of medicine and public health because within the laboratories of Building 29, scientific investigators conquered some of the deadliest infectious diseases that scourged America and the world. Some of the most well-known scientists and administrators of the twentieth century worked in this building, first for the NIH and then for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Building 29 was purpose-built in 1960 to house the newly established Division of Biologics Standards, which had been formed in 1955 as the continuation of a biologics regulatory function that had existed in what is now the NIH since 1902. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office when funding for the new building was made available for the DBS.

Building 29 was designed to be functional and safe for the Division of Biologics Standards. The building does not have much exterior ornament and does not contain the Georgian Revival style features that are present on the historic core of the NIH campus. Compared to construction drawings, the floor plan of Building 29 has not changed much since it opened in 1960. When the building was vacated in 2014, most of the laboratory equipment was removed. Asbestos abatement has led to partial demolition in some areas, but the exterior of the building remains intact, and some interior spaces do as well, conveying the significance of the laboratory space.

Architect: Ted Englehardt, AIA (Silver Spring, MD)

Builder, contractor, suppliers: The Norair Engineering Corporation constructed the building and Public Building Services of the General Services Administration (GSA) administered the contracts. John A. Cofrancesco, Research Facilities Planning Branch, DRS, was the NIH project engineer.