Transformation of Cold War-Era Federal Reserve Bunker to High-Tech Archival Facility for the Packard Humanities Institute Preserves Slice of History

Communication. Environment of cooperation. Collaboration. Faced with the an array of challenges associated with turning a decommissioned Federal Reserve facility, once home to cash and computers, into a film, audio and video conservation center ultimately to be gifted to the Library of Congress, the team relied on these simple, yet essential, concepts, proving once again teamwork is the key to success. As a result, this “once in a lifetime,” four-building, 400,000-sq.-ft. project is on track for a fall 2006 completion.

In Culpeper, VA, a DPR team is in the midst of a unique, “once in a lifetime” project to transform a former underground Federal Reserve cash storage and computer operations facility, originally born from the Cold War, into a high-tech facility designed to preserve, restore and archive some of America’s most historical and ongoing film, video and audio collections.

The project is the National Audio Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC), which DPR is constructing for the foundation, Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) of Los Altos, CA.

The history behind the existing underground facility is as unique as the transformation that it is currently undergoing. During the Cold War, the compound served as a vault that held as much as $3 trillion cash and as the computer center for the Federal Reserve of Richmond, VA. The facility was decommissioned after the Cold War ended and went on the market in the 1990s. PHI purchased the complex with the intent to renovate it and ultimately gift it to the Library of Congress to house its Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Sections.

While the project’s history and development are unique, so are the myriad of construction challenges DPR has encountered along the way during this 400,000-sq.-ft. technical project. A high level of teamwork is credited as the single most significant factor that has kept the project moving forward on a successful track to completion.

“Most projects have one or two things that are an anomaly that make them interesting,” commented DPR Project Manager Bruce Lowe. “On this job, it has seemed like every month or so there is something unusual or unique that forces the team to constantly come up with inventive solutions to these very challenging problems.”

The project includes a major two-phase renovation and addition to house a motion picture, broadcasting and recorded sound facility in four parts, as follow:

• The existing three-story building to store all media except nitrate, involving complete interior demolition and renovation of the existing 135,000-sq.-ft. building;
• A Central Plant Building, consisting of a new building constructed at grade behind the Collections Building;
• A Conservation Building, which includes construction of a 185,000-sq.-ft. building comprising public space, office, audio-visual and electronic labs, photographic wet labs and shipping/receiving facilities; and
• Nitrate Film Storage Vaults, which are in two connected buildings each with 60 individual four-hour rated film vaults, together with associated equipment building and equipment mezzanine, totaling about 47,000 sq. ft.

Construction began in August 2003, with overall completion currently scheduled for the fall of 2006. The NAVCC features a number of sustainable design elements, in keeping with the environmentally sensitive approach the owner sought in choosing to reuse this existing facility rather than build on a new greenfield site, which likely would have been simpler. One major feature is its green-roof system. Spanning nearly five-and-a-half acres, the green roof, which counts among its benefits the ability to filter pollutants and CO2 out of the air and reduce heating and cooling loads on the structure, is currently the largest of its kind on the East Coast. DPR has been instrumental in fostering an environment of cooperation while navigating through some serious feasibility-related challenges with the initial green-roof system.

This collaborative approach extended to interactions with the subcontractors, as well. Lowe explained, “We’ve focused on that same collaborative approach with our subs, working to get as much of the ambiguity out of the process every step along the way.”

The highly technical nature of the project has brought many other challenges and required major coordination from mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and civil, structural and architectural (CSA) teams. In fact, DPR’s work began long before construction even started. As part of the preconstruction team, it focused on devising strategies for how the “pieces of the puzzle” would eventually fit together. One particular challenge on the central plant work was installation of nine large air handlers, which had to be strategically placed in a long, narrow building that offered little access room. Installation of the nitrate film storage vaults proved to be another key technical challenge. Since pre-1951 film includes a nitrate component with the potential to spontaneously combust, the high-tech vaults are designed to provide multiple layers of protection for their contents against fire, smoke and heat, including a damper system designed to withstand 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

While safety is always a top priority on DPR projects, the technical complexity of this job made a strong onsite safety program particularly critical. A recent inspection by the Virginia Occupational Safety & Health program elicited strong positive comments from both the inspector and the owner. “One reason we selected DPR was their track record for safety and a clean site, and you have maintained that standard,” said George Ross, PHI’s representative. “This is even more of an achievement considering the multitude of distractions the project has faced over the past six months.”

In addition to technical complexity, securing enough qualified subcontractors and manpower for the job has been a challenge. The project’s location in rural Virginia, approximately two hours from Washington, D.C., and slightly less than that to Fairfax, VA, where DPR maintains a regional office, has made it difficult for subcontractors to retain the necessary workforce at times. That issue has added just one more facet to what Lowe describes as one of the more challenging jobs most of the DPR team members have encountered to date. “Our focus from day one has been building and keeping an A+ team out here,” he added. “That has paid significant dividends to both DPR and the owner.”