This new campus will consolidate the EPA’s functions on a site neighboring the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). EPA and NIEHS will share a centralized utility plant and common services such as: conference facilities, child care, landscaping, security and waste management. This closeness in proximity creates efficiencies and enhances opportunities for collaboration between these two prominent environmental organizations.

EPA has achieved a tremendous accomplishment in creating a facility which embodies its environmental ethics, while balancing out issues related to the mission of the Agency and the global environment. Designed by the architectural firm of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, it rests on a slope overlooking a woodland lake and below a knoll that is home to the site’s oldest trees. Embedding the facility into the sloping terrain allows the landscape to remain intact, reducing disruptions to the natural habitat during and after construction.

The new campus is approximately 1.2 million square feet and covers 1 quarter of a mile from end to end. With space for 2,200 people and 10,000 research animals, 400 individual laboratories, a conference center, a cafeteria, a national computer center and a childcare center, this will be the largest complex ever built and owned by EPA. The Agency partnered with the US General Services Administration and Clark Construction to make this concept a reality.

Storm water run-off will be naturally treated, by plant material on-site, to remove contaminants. Natural woodlands and wildflower plantings are used in place of turf grass to minimize the use of water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

EPA has selected building materials which are durable, low maintenance and have the least environmental impact over each material’s life cycle. Detailed specifications ensure compliance with federal, state and local requirements for recycled content, chemical emissions, and the use of hazardous materials.

Design flexibility conserves resources by minimizing the impact of future changes. Integrated building recycling facilities and on-site composting for landscaping debris minimize operational waste. During construction, many on-site materials acquired from land clearing and excavation will be reused rather than sent to a landfill. The EPA is also implementing a comprehensive and cost-effective construction waste recycling program.

This campus, with its innovative design and construction, will help to advance sustainable design and construction practices for years to come.