A US $1.3bn FBI Innovation Center project in Huntsville, Alabama has begun. HKS-Clark an architectural firm has been appointed to serve as its design-build team.Â
The 250,000sf FBI innovation center will be located at Redstone Arsenal where the FBI is currently building a 243-acre Science and Technology District campus. This pioneering facility will be dedicated to addressing cyber threat intelligence, data analytics, and training to combat emerging threats. It will also serve as the technical hub of the FBI and a central point for various technological-focused divisions of the Bureau to train together.
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The FBI program manager and Huntsville transition team lead, Adam Rhodes said in a statement, “As we look toward the future, we’re really focused on an investment strategy that will be surrounded by enterprise applied technology and advanced and specialized training. He added, “We want the FBI Redstone to be the epicenter of the FBI’s technology development, and we want to standardize and consolidate advanced trainings that are across the country right now in Redstone and create a graduate school for the FBI training program.”
Construction of this three story facility is due for completion in 2023, and the project’s scope of work includes a central utility plant, dining facilities, an outdoor quad, collaborative office space, formal and informal auditoriums, collision spaces to handle impromptu learning encounters and specialized training spaces with the inclusion of a kinetic cyber range and virtual reality classroom for agents to test and apply their skills and tools in real-world settings.
Keith Couch, the senior vice president overseeing the project’s design and construction explained how excited the Clark-HKS team is for the opportunity to deliver such a significant facility that will help in enhancing intelligence and the community’s capabilities with respect to safeguarding the country. He also said that the team is looking forward to supporting national security efforts, and contributing to a project that holds great significance in the local Huntsville community.
