NIKA has teamed with prime contractor Perkins+Will to provide furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) services for the Building 10 E-Wing Renovation project at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. The project, which encompasses 14 floors of world class research laboratories, is ongoing through 2019. The E-Wing renovations include full interior and systems renovations, mechanical equipment rooms, and renovations to provide teaching facilities, administrative support space, and support for MEP systems. NIKA was engaged to coordinate and plan existing equipment placement, surveys, and schedules.

In the initial phase of the project, NIKA’s architects, engineers, and life safety specialists performed surveys of every floor, speaking with doctors to understand their complex equipment and programming needs. Working in spaces fully occupied by researchers and patients, NIKA gathered mechanical, electrical and plumbing information, as well as life safety requirements to ensure that the prime contractor could effectively design a sensitive and secure space that would meet the needs of diverse constituents.

Upon completion, this renovation will result in an improved overall condition of Building 10, improved operational efficiency, reduced risk to adjoining Joint Commission-compliant space, and the improved ability of the facility to support the NIH mission. This project exemplifies NIKA’s unique expertise in sensitive medical facilities (e.g., BSL 1, 2 and 3 labs), lab equipment, and life safety components (e.g., chemical ratings).