HHMI has announced plans to develop additional housing at the Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia.

The individual residential units in this architectural drawing incorporate a long, wide design that maximizes the natural light in living areas. The horizontal layout allows for loft-like living spaces along the exterior wall. Core functions, such as storage, bath, and kitchen areas, will be located along the interior corridor wall.

The 60 one-bedroom apartments will support the recruitment of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other early career scientists. Ground breaking for the project is planned for late August or early September.

“Graduate students and postdocs are with us for a relatively short period of time and they place a high value on living close to their laboratories. As a result, expansion of on-campus housing is an important element in recruiting the most talented candidates from around the world and building a vibrant research community,” says Gerry Rubin, Janelia Farm's director.

The apartments will be located in an 80,000-square-foot building on a portion of the campus that lies just southeast of the research building, near the main entrance to Janelia Farm. The four-story building will have a slightly curved design that echoes the shape of the nearby research building; it will include one floor of covered parking and three floors of apartments.

“Attracting the best and brightest graduate scientists to HHMI and Loudoun County requires making them feel welcome and at home in our community. Expanding housing for scientists will help us in that goal,” says Loudoun County Supervisor Lori L. Waters, whose Broad Run District encompasses the Janelia Farm campus.

Ashburn-based Dietze Construction Group and WDG Architecture of Washington, D.C., were selected to design and build the project.

Each of the three residential floors will contain 20 apartments—eight one-bedroom units and 12 larger ones with an added den. The complex will include 61 covered parking spaces dedicated to residents, plus common areas. Visitor and handicap parking spaces will be located nearby.

The apartments will augment the housing village developed as part of the original campus plan. Those units—a mix of 21 studios and 32 multibedroom apartments—are intended for visiting scientists who typically come to Janelia Farm for short-term collaborations.

Photo: WDG Architecture

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