The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), of Laurel, has formally opened one of its newest state-of-the-art research facilities.
Dignitaries received a tour of the 263,000-square-foot facility, known as Building 201, and presentations on some of the Laboratory’s most innovative recent work in COVID-19 research and disease surveillance, spacecraft engineering and science, artificial intelligence and materials science.
In partnership with Cannon Design, APL shaped Building 201’s workspace to facilitate collaboration by providing places for researchers to easily connect with internal and external partners. Its open, highly flexible and reconfigurable floor plan allows the facility to meet researchers’ changing needs and includes more than 90,000 square feet of specialized laboratory space.
The new building houses more than 650 staff members, most of whom work in the Laboratory’s Research and Exploratory Development Department (REDD), APL’s long-range research engine. Building 201 was designed to spark excitement and collaboration with lab spaces that are open, adaptable and collocated with focus areas.
The building also comprises a four-story atrium filled with natural light, a STEM Center, a 200-person auditorium, and a combination of 100 huddle, conference and auditorium breakout rooms.