SM&W Contribution
Shen Milsom & Wilke (SM&W) provided acoustic, audiovisual, IT infrastructure, and security consulting services to the new headquarters building located in Port Covington, MD. The 280,000 SF, 5-story building will be a primary launch point for welcoming people to the campus.
This project involved designing and constructing a comprehensive fiber network across the campus, with SM&W leading the initiative for nearly all campus projects. The scope included establishing campus-wide pathways and fiber connectivity between buildings, remote network cabinets, and key areas like parking lots and walking trails. SM&W’s approach was informed by a holistic perspective, integrating infrastructure to support both current IT and security needs as well as future expansions.
A key challenge was accommodating the building’s mass timber superstructure and open-to-structure floor plan, which required innovative solutions for acoustics and future space changes. To minimize cabling while allowing for future wired outlets, the design incorporated near-total Wi-Fi connectivity with provisions for future expansions. Empty floor-boxes and wall-boxes were installed, and cable trays were designed with future capacity in mind. SM&W also utilized RF modeling software to optimize Wi-Fi coverage, ensuring robust performance tailored to the building’s unique architecture.