BALTIMORE — A building named for Henrietta Lacks - the African-American mother whose unique "HeLa" cancer cells revolutionized medicine - is one step closer to completion, on the Johns Hopkins campus in East Baltimore.
Johns Hopkins Medicine today unveiled the initial design plans for the Henrietta Lacks building, which will be in the heart of the Hopkins campus.
The 34,000-square-foot building, on the corner of Ashland and Rutland avenues, will support the programs of the adjacent Berman Institute of Bioethics, as well as the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; it will also have classroom space and meeting space for community use.
Jeri Lacks Whye, granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks and member of the Henrietta Lacks Building Advisory Committee, said in a statement:
“The design reflects not only her strong and beautiful spirit but her important role she plays in the history, and future, of East Baltimore.”
Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in 1951 and whose cells were used in medical research without her or her family's knowledge, has been honored in Maryland in many ways in recent years. Congress passed the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act in 2020.
Victor Vines, president, and Robert Thomas, director of design of Vines Architecture, said in a press release: “The expression of this building is unique to its surroundings, as Henrietta Lacks was a unique African American human being in this world. Our team has worked to design a building that fits within the urban context but has a special identity that we hope people believe warrants carrying the name of Henrietta Lacks. As we continue progress on the design, we believe that this building will remain a critical way to share the story of Henrietta Lacks for generations to come.”
Construction on the Johns Hopkins building is expected to start next year, and the building will be finished in 2025.
