Drug discovery and time to market are mission-critical in the pharmaceutical world. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) needed to build a manufacturing campus to bring their new rheumatoid arthritis drug to market in record time but had never tackled construction at this scale before. The lead designer, Fluor Enterprises, was referred to VHB because we developed the Devens master plan and could hit the ground running.
Armed with schematic building designs, we helped secure the permits necessary and the entitlements needed under the Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) to start construction within 45 days. From there, our team pushed the boundaries on sustainable design—from LEED® certification of lab/office and manufacturing buildings to making certain the visual, air, noise, and wetland project impacts were minimized to maintain compliance with current regulations. We also met BMS’s stringent needs to create an environmentally responsible and healthy work environment for its 350+ new employees.
As part of the permitting documentation process, VHB conducted a full noise evaluation and inventory for all rooftop mechanical equipment for the entire campus. The BMS campus is located in the Devens Enterprise Zone, which is an Industrial Performance Standard regulation developed with the DEC to protect the health and well-being of residents by establishing specific noise limits and standards for developments. VHB worked alongside the DEC to determine the effect of meeting demand for the campus while protecting residents.
VHB conducted multiple site visits to access the rooftops of all eight main buildings and at-grade outdoor equipment, documenting and measuring the sound levels of over 60 pieces of operating equipment. To conduct the noise evaluation of the entire campus, VHB modeled over 100 pieces of equipment in the Cadna-A noise modeling software. Innovative and cost-effective noise mitigation options were provided to BMS and approved by the DEC to mitigate the noise impacts at the campus’ property line.
VHB has continued to serve BMS as this campus has grown, designing the infrastructure required to support new research and development and manufacturing facilities as well as an outdoor corridor that links the facilities and unifies the campus.
