contractinspiring commercial design solutions september 2008

“Much of the interior detailing was inspired by the image of the human genome ‘ideogram,’ including thehorizontal light slots and linear patterned tile,” explains Kim Hartwell, RTKL senior vice president. Here,the inset of metal tile indicates a formal shared meeting space (above).

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By Holly RichmondPhotography by Paul Warchol

seeking synergyThe new U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in White Oak, Md., master planned and designed by RTKL and KlingStubbins, consolidates a multitude of specialized operations into a cohesive whole

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The reception area (above) for the CDERdirector’s office suite utilizes the samematerials found in the public spaces andreinforces the idea of a beautifully present-ed public face for the organization.A materials palette of limestone, glass,and painted metal lends itself to a unifiedcampus design and creates visual intereston the façade of the Center for Drug Eval-uation and Research (CDER) into the six-story atrium (left).

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Coordination. Interaction. Synergy. These conceptsdefined the goals of the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) for its new 130-acre campus in WhiteOak, Md. While the notion may sound straightforward,it was anything but that. Yet with the creative—and col-laborative—efforts of Washington, D.C.-based RTKLAssociates and the Raleigh, N.C., office of KlingStubbins,the FDA is well on its way to consolidating the func-tions of 18 former locations into one 16-building, 2-million-sq.-ft. campus.

Deanna Murphy, the FDA’s director of the office ofWhite Oak services, somewhat humorously recalls thatthe agency’s first realization it needed to consolidate itsheadquarters to a single location dates back about 50years. Finally, in October 1996, the Maryland Congres-sional Delegation implemented the no-cost transfer ofthe White Oak site to the General Services Administra-tion (the FDA’s “landlord”) from the Department ofthe Navy. The Navy operated the Naval Surface Warfare

Center at this site from the 1940s until the transfer.“The campus design allows boundless opportunities forinnovation and more effective use of technology,” sheexplains. “We’re reducing travel time between organiza-tions and have increased convenient public access toFDA, fostering even greater scientific collaboration.”

The FDA believed a centralized campus would enhance themultidisciplinary nature of its work as well as provide thecollegial environment required to attract and retain top-level staff. “The adoption of a universal planning conceptwas intended to reinforce a ‘one FDA’ culture and provide aworkplace flexible enough to accommodate its fluidnature,” states Rod Henderer, RTKL senior vice president.Since most of the FDA’s staff requires individual work-spaces both to support concentrative tasks and maintainsecurity measures (approximately 90 percent enclosed to10 percent open workplace ratio), one of the project’s mainchallenges was to provide these enclosed spaces through adesign that was balanced, open, and engaging.

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Michael Stevenson, KlingStubbins design princi-pal, worked closely with the RTKL team to bringthis vision to fruition. He believes it was not onlycritical to create interior spaces that foster interac-tion, but also to design a campus that does so aswell. “There are no stand-alone works of architec-ture, but rather thoughtfully designed and situatedbuildings that fit within a landscape to create acohesive, highly functional campus,” he remarks.“The FDA is coming together for the first time in apedestrian environment where people can see col-leagues on a regular and informal basis. Everyaspect of the interior and exterior design encour-ages that idea.”

Once the project is complete in 2012, the WhiteOak campus will serve nearly 9,000 FDAemployees. Presently 3,000 employees utilize thecampus, with the latest and the fifth building inthe universal plan, being the 300,000-sq.-ft. Cen-ter for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). Awide range of services are performed in theCDER, including drug compliance developmentand inspection, bioterrorism and contingencyoperations, the review of drug labeling and newproduct evaluation. Featuring a six-story atriumthat serves as a main entry, flexible meetingspace for informal gatherings, and exemplarysource of natural light, the building has set thestandard for a highly integrative and productivework environment.

The building’s two narrow office wings are con-nected by the atrium, bridges at the north andsouth ends of the atrium, and by a full-heightstaircase, and are designed to maximize the num-ber of workspaces with access to both naturaldaylight and views to either the atrium or out-doors. The 9-ft. ceiling height and full-heightglazed sidelights bring daylight into corridors andinterior offices. Below, an underfloor air distribu-tion system is used through a pressurized plenumto improve indoor air quality and energy efficien-cy and to ensure future flexibility. “Our goal wasto make the shared spaces engaging while provid-

The six-story, sun-drenched atrium draws daylight to interiorspaces, including the conference rooms overlooking eachlevel (opposite). Slot windows act as visual access pointsinto and out of the conference room (left) to view the bustlingatrium. Teaming areas on each floor (below) provide staffwith the ability to conduct casual, impromptu gatherings.

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The six-story atrium features a café with along counter that acts as a space divider(below) as well as home base for people-watching. The floor pattern is a combinationof three subtle tones of gray terrazzo,arrayed to replicate the pattern of the“ideogram” of a genome. Conference rooms(right) feature elliptical ceiling elements thatdraw the eye upward toward the sky view,emphasizing the openness of the atrium.Because the FDA works 90 percent in anenclosed office environment, extensiveuse of glazing provides natural light to theinterior offices and enlivens office corri-dors (opposite right). A pantry on eachfloors serves as a destination and collab-oration point (opposite left).

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The light-filled break-out space utilizes cool accent colors to contrast the warm neutral palette of the private offices (above).

ing a feeling of neutrality in the individual offices,” explains Kim Hartwell,RTKL senior vice president in charge of the project’s interiors.

The interior design concept focuses on the idea of the atrium as the centralplaza, bridges as the main communication arteries, and the office corridors asmore private zones. Collaborative spaces such as meeting rooms and pantriesare located on each floor at the crossroads of the communication axis. Thebuilding’s main entry floor houses shared support functions including a 200-seat conference center, a multipurpose auditorium, three small confer-ence rooms, and the atrium café. Hartwell says, “Since this was the FDA’s firstattempt at a collaborative office setting, we wanted to encourage communica-tion with vibrant color, use of light, and special finishes in the shared spaces.From the feedback we’re getting, it has been a huge success.”

Another attribute of the CDER, as well as the overall campus, that employeesenjoy is its environmental responsibility. Every aspect of the CDER is designedto LEED standards (tracking Silver), but perhaps more importantly, theimplementation of green design elements have set a new standard for the

FDA in the project’s overall direction. “The campus lends itself to sustainabledesign,” Stevenson remarks. “Not only is it a pedestrian campus with easilyaccessible pathways and courtyards to make driving to meetings a thing of thepast, but we have also made sustainability a top priority.” Notably, a co-gener-ation plant generates and recaptures energy on site, heat redistribution occursthrough a utility tunnel system, rainwater is collected, and bio-retention areasare implemented to minimize runoff to surrounding streams and sewers.

“The move to this campus and the outstanding work of both RTKL andKlingStubbins have brought a new feeling of satisfaction in our workplace,”Murphy remarks. She notes that the employees not only feel good aboutworking in an environmentally responsible setting, but they also believetheir work has been elevated to a higher level of efficiency with renewedinspiration. “We feel an amazing sense of pride as we work together in thishigh-quality and friendly work environment to carry out FDA’s criticalmission of public health,” she concludes.

For a list of who, what, where, please visit www.contractmagazine.com.

1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008 202-912-8289 www.rtkl.com

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