GMK Associates was selected by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to provide architectural and engineering services for the construction of a new South Carolina State Metrology Laboratory to be located at the current South Carolina State Farmers Market site off of US 378 in Lexington County, SC. A metrology laboratory provides National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) traceable calibrations for mass and volume standards and calibrates equipment for state inspectors and private scale and pump service companies for the enforcement of weights and measures regulations.
 
The objective of the project is to construct a new state-level Metrology Laboratory that meets the requirements of a new state standards program recently established by federal law. Specifically, the completed facility must meet the national and international standards set forth by NIST for a state laboratory program in order to achieve accredited environmental certification. The new facility is to replace the existing “Echelon 1” Metrology Laboratory currently located on Catawba Street in downtown Columbia, SC, and is to retain the “Echelon 1” status by meeting or exceeding the new state standards through modernization and better environmental controls.
 
For the project, GMK has assembled and is leading a team of internal and subconsultant resources to provide architecture and site civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services for the new facility. The team further includes a specialty consultant for precision engineering associated with complex measurement-related equipment and activities. The cost of construction of the new Metrology Laboratory is estimated to be between $2.2 and $2.4 million.