STV provided on-site owner’s representative services and home office independent design review services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for a $100 million state-of-the-art BSL-3Ag large animal housing facility as part of its support for the USDA’s Ames Modernization Program. The 145,000-square-foot facility is designed primarily for domestic animal and wildlife research programs.The individual animal rooms require rigid control of temperature, humidity, and air movement at all times to provide optimal conditions for the health of the animals. In addition to the mechanical systems, STV managed commissioning of the motor control centers, lighting controls, fire alarm system, bio-safety alarm system, intercom/paging system, access control system, and the closed circuit television system. The firm also led a value engineering effort that reduced the overall cost of the building without compromising functionality and containment levels.