A rendering of the Brigham Building for the Future, which will open this fall

The Brigham Building for the Future (BBF), opening this fall, will be home to research labs and ambulatory clinics dedicated to the neurosciences, orthopaedics, immunology, rheumatology and musculoskeletal health. Clinical and research teams from across BWH’s campus will come together in the 12-story building to collaborate and accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into novel treatments for patients.

BWH Bulletin asked for your questions about the new state-of-the-art building and talked with Lani Kuzia, project manager for Real Estate, to find the answers. Here they are below:

What is the address of BBF?
BBF is located at 60 Fenwood Road.

When will various teams be moving in?
With the first patients scheduled to be seen on Oct. 3, the first move is set for Sept. 30. There will be staggered move-ins through March 2017, but all clinical teams will be moved in before the end of October 2016.

What are the plans for patient parking?
Patients able to do so may self-park in the BBF’s underground garage, which contains 150 spaces for patients. They may also leave their car with BWH’s valet service on the second level of the BBF underground garage or at 75 Francis St. for valet parking.

Will people be able to access BBF directly from the Mission Park Garage without having to go outside?
No, there will not be indoor access from the Mission Park Garage to the BBF; however, BBF is just a few steps away from the garage.

Will there be any inpatient beds in the new building?
No. The building will consist of eight floors of research laboratory space and three floors for outpatient clinical visits.

Will there be any food options in the new building?
There will be a cafe in the BBF operated by BWH and Sodexo, a hospitality company.

Are there any public spaces that employees will be able to reserve?
There will be public conference space that employees will be able to reserve as meeting space through the Audio/Visual Resource Scheduler (at BWHPikeNotes.org).

Are there any “green” features in the new building?
The building will incorporate a number of innovative, environmentally friendly features, including a roof garden to reduce storm water runoff and a co-generation power plant that will enable BWH to make enough electricity to power about 80 percent of the BBF’s and Shapiro Center’s electrical needs. The power plant, which was built in Germany, is a natural gas-fired engine that will supply the building with electricity and steam. The BBF has been designed to achieve the environmentally friendly Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

What other innovative features will be part of BBF?
Six highly-sophisticated MRI and CT machines will comprise the BBF’s state-of-the-art underground imaging facility. One of the MRI machines, the 7-Tesla, is the most powerful MRI machine in the world and one of only a few of its kind available to clinicians and researchers. The MRI provides extremely detailed images of metabolic pathways in the brain.

Were any patients or family members of patients involved in the design of the building?
Martie Carnie, BWH’s senior patient advisor, was involved in the planning and design of the building from the beginning, sharing insights from the patient and family perspective with BWH Real Estate and Facilities staff and building architects.
“We talked about what kinds of resources and information would be helpful to patients at the front desk in patient waiting areas and how the front desk should be set up for an easy approach for patients,” said Carnie. “We also discussed clear signage for patients, traffic flow, the use of media in waiting areas and colors for building finishes. It’s important for people to know that the patient and family voice was incorporated.”

Will there be employee tours of the new building?
Employee tours will be available in September for day, evening, night and weekend staff. Dates and more details about tours and celebrations will be forthcoming.

Do you have a question about the BBF? Share it with bwhbulletin@partners.org. Stay tuned for additional stories about the BBF in the coming months in the print and online Bulletin, and view BWH Clinical & Research News’s BBF series.