Building for Science

When it comes to researching high-energy physics, precision, precaution, and attention to detail are critical to getting the right results. That’s why when Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) was asked to design the Liquid Argon Test Facility (LArTF) for Fermilab, we led a highly engaging process with numerous staff members to make sure that the facility would work to their specifications and that we would get the results they needed.

Fermilab is the U.S. Department of Energy’s research facility located in Batavia, IL. The LArTF building, which is used for neutrino experimentation and investigations, is a 48-foot, cylindrical cast-in-place concrete structure approximately 64-feet tall. Half of the structure is below grade. The roof system is a combination of cast-in-place concrete beams and removable precast box beams. The roof was specifically designed for Fermilab’s need to change out large scale test equipment associated with their unique experiments. The structure consists of two intermediate floor levels supported by the structure walls, steel beams and decking.

This $5.5 million project is just one of the many that Fermilab has trusted us to design over the past 20 years.