Virginia Tech Biosafety Level 3 Labs
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Client: LSY Architects & Planners
Owner: Virginia Tech
Size: 5,800 SF
Axias Role: Cost Estimating
As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and a leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers about 280 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It is in the top 5% of universities in the nation for research expenditures and has a research portfolio of more than $556 million.
Axias provided cost estimating services for improvements to two biosafety level (BSL) 3 facilities: the Infectious Disease Research Facility, a biocontainment building associated with the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, and a laboratory managed by the Fralin Life Science Institute. Our services allowed VT to validate the budget in order to get NIH grant approval.
The project scope for the 4,400-square-foot infectious disease lab was a remodel to create flexible animal suites and a connecting corridor between BSL-3 and ABSL (animal biosafety level) 3 spaces. Improvements included augmented biosafety features, engineering controls, and an HVAC system upgrade. At the Fralin facility, laboratory capacity was expanded by 1,400 square feet by reintegrating BSL-2 rooms with BSL-3 space, and substandard elements of the dedicated HVAC system were upgraded.
Mechanical equipment at both facilities was rebalanced and recommissioned to field-test and verify BSL-3 compliant design parameters.