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will be removed or protected from damage. The Museum will require 125,000 square feet of on-site staging space to accommodate these relocations. Under the selected option, the Museum will use a 80,000 square-foot building to be constructed within the East Court of the Natural History Building as staging space during HVAC construction. Although this falls short of the estimated need for staging space, the Museum can manage the necessary relocations by temporarily compressing some of the activities and collections within the Natural History Building and by using a limited amount of exhibition space for the duration. Construction of the East Court building will cost an estimated $25 million, exclusive of equipping costs, and will require relocation of the current chiller plant to a new vault under the Museum's parking lot as well as accommodation for other functions now in the East Court space. The HVAC construction will be pushed back about two years to allow relocation of the chiller plant and construction of the East Court Building. However, the resulting increase in the cost of the HVAC renovation is offset by substantial savings in the cost of building temporary staging areas within the Natural History Building, for a total estimated renovation cost of $116.3 million. Construction of the East Court Building to serve as staging space will avoid major closing of additional exhibitions for the duration of the construction project. The impact on the visiting public of such closings could be very damaging to the Museum over many years. Another particularly compelling benefit of construction of the East Court Building is the acquisition of permanent space to allow decompression of currently overcrowded Museum activities at the end of the construction period.

In fact, although the proposed building is a key component in the Smithsonian's plans to renovate the HVAC and electrical systems in the building, it is the Museum's desperate need for additional permanent space to house its diverse and expanding programs that argues most strongly for the construction of the East Court Building. The Natural History Building houses over 1,200 employees of the Smithsonian Institution and related agencies. Included in this number are 230 scientists who, with over 3,000 visiting scientists annually, conduct basic, collection-related research in a broad range of subjects critically important in advancing scientific knowledge and understanding of natural phenomena. Other staff are involved in managing and caring for a collection of over 100 million specimens, the development and installation of public exhibitions in 30 major halls, and associated educational and outreach activities.

During fiscal year 1990 the Institution will complete the necessary planning for the East Court building. The planning process will identify the program elements to be included, develop specific space and configuration requirements, and provide a more precise cost estimate and construction schedule. The Institution has included an amount of $1.5 million in the fiscal year 1991 request to the Office of Management and Budget for design of the new building. It is essential that construction of the new building take place quickly in order to allow the HVAC renovation to proceed as planned.

While planning and design of the East Court Building proceeds, the Institution will begin design and construction of portions of the HVAC renovation project that are not dependent on the availability of the East Court space. These components include construction of the new underground chiller plant and penthouses to house mechanical equipment over the east and west wings, window replacement, and installation of roof insulation and new