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

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Buildings 29 and 29A

The buildings at the Division of Biologics Standards (DBS) suffered from many of the design limitations of the Richards laboratory building discussed above. From 1955 to 1960, scientists and administrators in the DBS were spread amongst multiple buildings on the NIH campus, including Buildings 4, 5, 7, and 8. While Building 29 allowed researchers to work and collaborate more easily in one consolidated space, by the early 1960s additional space was clearly needed. The firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls was chosen for the project as they had completed or served as associate architect on several largescale Modern design projects in the 1950s–early 1960s, including the GE Motors Technical Center, in Detroit, Michigan and Michigan Bell Telephone Northwest Staff Center in Southfield, Michigan. Smith, Hinchman & Grylls were utilizing new modern technology as well as incorporating the feedback and wishes of their clients much like Louis Kahn at the Salk institute in order to create designs that would allow for the best use of lighting and space for the researchers working in their buildings. As such, Building 29A was designed with an innovative floor plan that catered to the needs of the NIH DBS Laboratory Annex. The floor plan featured an exterior perimeter corridor that shielded the labs from light, heat, and noise from the outdoors, as well as modular laboratories which could be adjusted as project needs changed, and continuous utility cores behind each hallway of labs in order to facilitate these changes easily. Engineering/architectural controls such as air intake towers and a high velocity exhaust air system were also put in place to ensure that the working environment was both functional and safe.