Oak Ridge National Laboratory - East Campus Development

As part of an innovative public-private partnership, UT-Battelle Development Corporation, the management and operations contractor at ORNL, selected the Colliers Keenan development firm of Columbia, SC, for an innovative public/private partnership charged with designing and constructing the first three facilities of ORNL’s modernization plan. Heery served as the designer for the East Campus Complex as part of the Colliers Keenan team. 

The $53 million East Campus Complex includes 388,000 SF in three connected buildings: the Computational Science Building (containing one of the world’s fastest “supercomputers”); the Research Office Building; and the Engineering Technology Facility. The high-performance computer research building was accelerated so that ORNL could take early delivery of the first group of supercomputers.  The second component includes research laboratories and high-bay testing areas to conduct experiments involving explosives and other sensitive materials, as well as several clean rooms.  The third component, which links the other two, includes the central reception, conference rooms, executive and research offices, and a “main street” spine with employee amenities that faces a new landscaped courtyard.

The goal was to develop cutting-edge facilities designed for sustainability and energy efficiency. Heery guided ORNL and the development team in delivering facilities to showcase energy and water efficiency and renewable energy improvements.  With Heery’s assistance, ORNL now has the most LEED-certified space in the entire Department of Energy (DOE) system, having attained LEED certification for the East Campus Complex and LEED Gold certification for a later project, the Multi-Program Research Facility.