"The AML is the world-class facility that will provide the US with global leadership in measurements and standards, and set the foundation for technological advances well into the 21st century," then-Secretary of Commerce William Daley said in a statement from the 2000 groundbreaking ceremony.

Situated off I-270 on the 580-acre NIST campus, most of which was developed in the mid 1960s, the AML is a multi-wing development designed by HDR Architecture Inc. that consists of five low-rise structures attached by corridors. Specifically, the project encompasses two underground metrology laboratory sections totaling 190,000 sf, two above-ground instrument laboratory sections totaling 230,000 sf, and a 92,000-sf above-ground clean room wing, all of which have one or two additional floors to house mechanical equipment and environmental controls. And between the five structures, there is a total of approximately 25,000 sf of office space.

"Our largest and most complex laboratory project to date was built professionally, delivered on schedule and budget," says NIST program director Robert F. Moore.