Steel Beams Rising; Now the Building Needs a Name
The new building at the Lab, scheduled to open in Spring 2027, is taking shape. The steel beams have arrived and are being put in place. The beams will support a new 47,743-square-foot building that will house food service (and a coffee bar!), conference facilities, and a home for Operations services such as Security, Human Resources, and the Health Services Clinic. What it needs right now, though, is a name. Thanks to Lab photographer Thor Swift for the photos.
Steel beams being lifted by crane
Steel columns reach toward the sky
Laying Foundations for the Future
On August 21, 2024, members of the Seismic Safety and Modernization (SSM) project team hosted leaders from the Department of Energy and Berkeley Lab to celebrate the laying of foundations at the SSM site in August. The Office of Science highlighted the SSM project on its website to reflect DOE’s and Congress's commitment to modernizing Berkeley Lab and maintaining U.S. leadership in science and discovery.
A Major Construction Milestone for the Lab
Rain and unexpected challenges didn't stop Berkeley Lab’s Projects & Infrastructure Modernization Division from completing a major milestone last week, successfully moving and installing several utilities as part of the preparation for the Seismic Safety and Modernization (SSM) facility.
The Transit Hub Utilities Project (THUP), which includes installing and relocating several utilities in preparation for the SSM project, installed new 12 kV electrical lines and utility equipment over the course of a 10-day electrical power outage that affected three buildings on the Lab’s hill site, safely completing the work despite rainstorms and other site challenges.
End of an Era: Cafeteria Building Comes Down
It’s the end of an era for Berkeley Lab. Demolition of Building 54 – which served as the Lab’s cafeteria, among other things, for more than 70 years – began on August 23, 2023. While it will take several weeks to remove all traces, the iconic main story was torn down by the end of the day.
This article contains a selection of images from the Lab archives showing the many activities hosted in Building 54 over the years, as well as renderings of what the future holds for the site, and time-lapse video of the superstructure demolition.
Keith Laforga, Facilities Outage Portfolio Manager, hosted a follow up town hall for the Lab community on August 25 to discuss utility outages scheduled on December 9-14, 2023, for the Transit Hub Utilities Project (THUP) affecting Buildings 50, 70, and 70A.
Click the links below to view the recording and the presentation deck.
The Facilities Outage Portfolio Manager, Keith Laforga, hosted a town hall for the Lab community on August 4 to discuss utility outages scheduled on September 8, 2023, for Facilities infrastructure projects affecting Buildings 70 and 70A. Separate outages planned for THUP in December; dates TBD. Another town hall will be scheduled once the December outage dates have been confirmed.
Click the links below to view the recording and the presentation deck.
The project team hosted a town hall for the Lab community on October 20. Click the links below to view the recording and the presentation deck.