In late February, Johns Hopkins leaders announced that the on-campus building project named in honor of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells have advanced medicine around the world, will be designed and managed by local and/or minority-owned businesses, including Vines Architecture and local Baltimore construction firm Mahogany, in conjunction with Turner Construction Company.
Also significant is the amount of project spending committed to minority-owned and women-owned businesses, disadvantaged business enterprises (MWDBEs) and local business enterprises (LBEs). In all, the project aims to direct 30% of addressable spend to MWDBEs and 20% to LBEs, outpacing Johns Hopkins’ existing economic inclusion commitments.
“It is our responsibility and honor to showcase the outstanding work of Baltimore’s local and minority-owned businesses in the design and construction of this building to be named in honor of Henrietta Lacks and her legacy,” says Ronald Daniels, president of The Johns Hopkins University.
The new, approximately 34,000-square-foot building in East Baltimore named for Lacks will adjoin Deering Hall, an existing historic structure that is home to the Berman Institute of Bioethics. Located at the corner of Ashland and Rutland avenues, in the heart of Baltimore’s Eager Park community, the building will support multidisciplinary and complementary programs of the Berman Institute, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and others of The Johns Hopkins University, and will include flexible program and classroom space to support education and research.
“Henrietta Lacks’ extraordinary contributions to clinical research and the advancement of health throughout the world are especially important in today’s world, as we harness rapidly advancing science and research to tackle tough challenges,” says Paul B. Rothman, dean/CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “We are honored to be able to name this building in recognition of Mrs. Lacks and are proud it will be, fittingly, home to Johns Hopkins’ world-leading bioethics research and education, and programs for our researchers to partner with patients and the community to work to improve the health of Baltimore and the nation.”
Johns Hopkins also announced that the Henrietta Lacks Building Community Advisory Committee, comprising members of the Lacks family, the East Baltimore community, The Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine, will reconvene and participate in meetings to offer input during the design process and respond to proposed options at specific milestones throughout the project. The group will meet quarterly.
