Two new buildings on the California campus promise cutting-edge working facilities, feature more cost-efficient component designs and demonstrate Sandia’s commitment to environmental responsibility.
The Limited Area Multi-Program, or LAMP, buildings consist of a 27,000-square-foot office space and a 17,000-square-foot high-bay facility. Teams with the W87-1 nuclear weapon modernization program will be the first to occupy the complex.
“LAMP will house state-of-the-art capabilities that are critical to our role as a design agency and lead systems integrator for nuclear weapons. It will allow us to streamline design activities and reduce our cycle time so that we can deliver on our commitments to the nation,” Deputy Labs Director Laura McGill said at the Nov. 30 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It will also house world-class manufacturing capabilities, including advanced prototyping for rapid development of key components.”
Associate Labs Director Andy McIlroy highlighted Sandia’s dedication to fiscal responsibility while continuing to safeguard the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
(Photo by Spencer Toy)
“We have found tremendous partnership with the NNSA in funding these new capabilities in a time when we are really trying to watch the taxpayer’s money and make the most of the dollars that we have from the federal government,” Andy said, adding that the complex is helping the Labs realize several goals. “The LAMP high-bay building is the first to leverage the Standardization and Recapitalization Initiative in NNSA. We’re trying to pioneer here a standardized design that we can use across the Laboratories, and I hope across the national security enterprise, to provide more efficient construction and work things in a more modular fashion.”
Laura said the LAMP enhances the California site’s importance to Sandia and the national nuclear security enterprise network of labs.
“There is such a rich history at this site going back to March 8, 1956, and it’s fostered our close partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,” she said. “It enables our exceptional teams to successfully execute our joint modernization programs.”
Labs Director James Peery, the Sandia Board of Managers and local dignitaries, including Livermore Mayor John Marchand, attended the ceremony to dedicate the buildings.
“Some of the most difficult problems in the world come to Livermore to be solved because much of the big science work that is done here can be done nowhere else in the world,” the mayor said. “Sandia continues to be a great asset, not only for our community but for our country. Thank you for the work you do for the community, the nation and the world.”
Andy pointed out to the assembled crowd that over the last several years the work done at the California site has expanded greatly, and the LAMP facilities are a direct response to that growth and the importance of Sandia’s work here. He also said the buildings support site sustainability and reflect Sandia’s goal of being a good steward of the environment.
“Since 2010, the site population in California has roughly doubled, paralleling the growth we have seen in the Laboratories. This has really pushed our infrastructure to its very limits,” he said. “It is important that we have energy efficiency to go with the renewable energy future that we see. We’re really proud to get cost-effective buildings that are good for the site, good for the environment and that allow us to accomplish the very important missions the nation depends upon us for.”
Laura echoed Andy’s sentiment, saying she is proud of the work done on behalf of the nation and the people who give their lives to serve Sandia’s missions.
“I know our teams are going to thrive here.”