Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team

Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team
Photo source
www.wwglass.com

Date: 22 August 2017

Nationally-acclaimed glass specialists from W&W Glass worked with installer TSI Exterior Wall Systems, Inc. to supply the six-story lobby atrium with glass roof returns and canopy over the entrance.

Looking more like a major consumer brand’s headquarters than a public facility, the Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) in the nation’s capital is a cutting-edge, award winning science facility designed to provide the District of Columbia with critical public safety and health science infrastructure.

Co-locating the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), the CFL provides advanced laboratory and work facilities designed for the safety of the analysts and the public.

Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team

The $200 million facility is a state-of-the-art powerhouse, exactly like the work that is performed in the interior. There were many common (and not so common) logistical issues that crews faced to complete this building.

Facilities that have a site and program as complex as the Consolidated Forensic Laboratory require a lot of time and effort to evolve.

Since the build site is located in Washington, D.C., the site is in a dense urban area with strict zoning and anti-terrorism/force protection requirements. The CFL is adjacent to a major elevated interstate, elevated train line, and two underground subway lines. 

While normally these type of federal buildings should not stick out in the crowd and draw attention to its presence, this building uses a modern design by HOK that is more functional than it might appear.

Nationally-acclaimed glass specialists from W&W Glass worked with installer TSI Exterior Wall Systems, Inc. to supply the six-story lobby atrium with glass roof returns and canopy over the entrance.

Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team

The team’s choice for the free-span structural glass lobby enclosure was a Pilkington Planar™ system with clear silk-screened insulating glass units utilizing HP 73/42 on the #2 Surface and a custom color white frit pattern on the #3 surface.

For the roof glass, the solution was clear SGP Interlayer insulating laminated silk-screened glass units with the same coating and pattern.

The hardware for the facade was a fairly complex configuration of Pilkington 902 fittings, Nexus-style spider castings, vertical stainless steel tension rods and horizontal stainless steel cable trusses. The result was an energy-efficient building “skin” that used coated glass to reduce heat load on the building.

The building also had chilled beam and heat recovery methods (like enthalpy wheels) to effectively and efficiently maintain temperatures. The CFL has recieved a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating, the highest designation.

 The lofty atrium lets in a high volume of daylighting, thereby conserving energy that would be otherwise be needed for lighting this large space. A hanging staircase starts at the second floor to safely thwart any would-be assailants from gaining access to the upper parts of the building.

Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team

By separating the laboratory and office areas, the building responds to each section’s unique requirements. The labs on the north are compartmentalized while the offices on the south are open.

The core elements (shafts, electrical/telecom rooms, stairs, and elevators) are located centrally between the office and lab zone to serve both sides efficiently. The 351,000-square-foot lab required a very complex program including:

  •      A Biosafety Level 3 high containment lab
  •      General, isolated, and infectious autopsy suites
  •      Indoor firing range with ammunition storage, firearms reference library, and bullet recovery tank
  •      Drug laboratories and scanning Electron Microscope labs

Finally, the building has a 30,000-square-foot green roof with vegetation and a hard runoff reclamation cistern that can reclaim two million gallons of rainwater per year.

Everything about this building is built with advanced technology that is still aesthetically pleasing. To get an even more personal viewpoint and see more of the building, check out the insider’s tour above from the DC Mayor’s Office YouTube with former CFL Director Mark Houck.

For a complete look at the W & W Glass portfolio of work that shows a tremendous range in projects, technology and cutting-edge design, visit our portfolio here.

600450 Consolidated Forensics Laboratory – Creating a Grand Entrance for the Real-Life CSI Team glassonweb.com

Others also read

Guardian Glass and the VELUX Group have entered a joint development agreement concerning tempered vacuum insulated glass.
Pilkington Nederland BV has recently taken a significant step forward in quality assurance by incorporating the Sparklike Laser Portable™ into their production process.
The 2024 calendar of overseas appointments opens with Glass Expo Northeast, the largest glass expo in the northeast region of the USA. 
The unique adaptive reuse of Pittsburgh’s RIDC Mill 19 features windows with Solarban® 60 Glass and skylights with Solarban® 70 Glass.
Kuraray, a global leader in innovative interlayer solutions, is excited to announce its participation in Glass Expo Northeast™ '24, scheduled for March 20-21 at the Marriott Long Island in Uniondale, NY.

Add new comment

From industry

2200 W. Salzburg Rd.
Auburn , MI 48611
United States

Ottergemsesteenweg 707-Zuid
9000 Ghent
Belgium

Pol. Ind. Penapurreira Parcela C4-B,
15320 As Pontes de García Rodríguez A Coruña
Spain