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Public Safety Answering Center II

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING CENTER II

SOM

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Thornton Tomasetti

SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANT
Vidaris

CLIENT
New York City Department of Design and Construction

MEP ENGINEER
Jaros Baum & Bolles

SENIOR INTERIOR DESIGNER
Cynthia Mirbach

CIVIL ENGINEER
Philip Habib & Associates

MANUFACTURERS
Island Exterior Fabricators, Terrazzo & Marble, Armstrong Ceilings, Kawneer, Shaw, Sherwin-Williams

LIGHTING DESIGNER
Domingo Gonzalez Associates, Vidaris

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services

ACOUSTICAL AND VIBRATION DESIGNER
Shen Milsom & Wilke

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Thomas Balsley Associates, Vidaris

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
Tishman Construction Corporation

VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANT
an Deusen & Associates

DESIGN PARTNER
Gary Haney

MANAGING PARTNER
Laura Ettelman, Peter Magill

TECHNICAL PARTNER
Carl Galioto

INTERIOR DESIGN PARTNER
Stephen Apking

MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mark Regulinski

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Nicholas Holt

PROJECT MANAGER
Emily Mottolese, Mark Leininger, Joseph Sacco

SENIOR DESIGN ARCHITECT
Rob Rothblatt

SENIOR TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Carl Brown

SENIOR TECHNICAL ARCHITECT
Lesley Campbell, Ross Goldsworthy

ACTIVE MODULAR PHYTOREMEDIATION WALL SYSTEM (AMPS)
Center for Architecture Science & Ecology

SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTANT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT GRAPHIC DESIGNER LIGHTING DESIGNER
Vidaris

CODE CONSULTANT
Milrose Consultants

COST ESTIMATING CONSULTANT
Ellana Inc

KITCHEN CONSULTANT
Hopkins Food Service

GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Lebowitz Gould Design, Vidaris

SECURITY DESIGN CONSULTANT
Shen Milsom & Wilke

BLAST DESIGNER
Thornton Tomasetti

PHOTOGRAPHS
Albert Vecerka

AREA
450000 ft²

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Bronx, United States

CATEGORY
Emergency Services Facility

Text description provided by architect.

Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II), a new facility located in the Bronx, enhances New York City’s 911 emergency response system and sets a high standard to sustainability.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

The 450,000-square-foot building brings together emergency response workers from multiple city agencies—the Police Department, the Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services—serving as a model for inter- agency cooperation.

As a back-up facility to the city’s primary call center, PSAC II introduces an important layer of redundancy to New York City’s 911 system.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

Continuously operating and highly secure, the building enhances the city’s ability to maintain communication in the event of a natural disaster or large-scale emergency.

The project’s completion is a milestone in New York City’s overhaul of its 911 system, a long-term initiative begun by former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

PSAC II sits on a prominent nine-acre site at the intersection of Bronx and Pelham Parkway and Hutchinson River Parkway.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

With its design, SOM confronted the challenge of creating a secure and functional building that also makes a positive contribution to its urban context. Designed as a perfect cube, the structure has few windows due to security concerns.

To mitigate the building’s potentially monolithic appearance, SOM developed a dynamic, serrated facade that includes recycled aluminum.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

The building is surrounded by a wrap-around sculptural berm of wild grasses. This berm serves as a barrier to protect the facility, and it also enriches the aesthetics of the site.

From the Hutchinson River and Pelham Parkways, the berm hides the surface parking and loading dock from view; for the building’s occupants, it o ers a sense of connection to nature.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

The landscape requires no irrigation, which helps to achieve the project’s ambitious sustainability goal of LEED® Gold certification.

SOM gave special attention to creating a soothing environment for the emergency response teams working inside. The building’s main gathering space features an innovative plant wall developed by CASE, the design research laboratory of SOM in partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

This plant wall not only introduces nature into the building, but also lters the air and reduces overall energy use.


Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka


Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka
Public Safety Answering Center II
© Albert Vecerka

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