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 Services
Provided:
Planning services and the design of mechanical
and electrical systems.
Size:
120,000 sf new construction
The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) was unable
to perform autopsies at the rate required due to limited capacity
of its present facilities. In response, the OCME decided to build
a new, 120,000 sf forensic medical center that will provide for
the present and future needs of its forensics team. Syska Hennessy
Group was retained to provide the planning, mechanical and electrical
design for facility
Project features include two levels of body receiving, transport,
garage, autopsy, cooler/freezer, BSL-2 and BSL-3 autopsy, viewing,
and teaching areas. Additionally, the third floor is 100% laboratory
with serology, histology, toxicology, DNA, instrumentation and the
required support services for storage and inert gas handling. The
4th and 5th floors house the offices of the Chief Medical Examiner
and his deputies as well as training, conference, library, and break
areas. All levels include staff locker and shower facilities.
The first of its kind, the actual autopsy area is also the primary
containment area requiring complete decontamination when the BSL-3
procedure is complete. Interstitial maintenance space is adjacent
to, but outside of, the BSL-3 area which has been designed to separate
the hazardous materials area from the rest of the facility. Additional
provisions for decontaminations include 100% air tight welded ductwork,
air shut-off valves, isolation valves, HEPA filtration for 11 separate
air pressure zones, and express exhaust system fans. Air handling
within the building is Air Driven for the first three levels including
up to 18 negative air changes per hour in the BSL-3 chamber.
Electrical power, via automatic transfer switches, supplies on-site
standby power for all OCME operational and laboratory areas in addition
to one of the two dedicated office levels. During a power outage, more
than 80% of the operations of the building will be able to continue
due to the standby power provided by the 1500 kW generator. |
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