Construction has begun on the Nassau County Public Safety Center (NCPSC) located in a former warehouse complex in Westbury, N.Y. Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) designed the new facility on behalf of Nassau County. URS Corporation is the construction manager for the project. The program manager is Carter Burgess. Part of a county-wide consolidation program for emergency services, the facility will house Nassau County's E911 police and fire call center, a Haz/Mat, bomb squad response center, as well as offices and conference rooms for county staff and officials. In order to accommodate all these functions, a second floor will be constructed within the existing structure, increasing square footage from 290,000 sf to 380,000 sf.
To secure the E911 call center within a full-access public building, SHCA designed a "kernel" for this part of the facility, isolating it from the surrounding public access spaces through plan arrangement, secure construction, and the installation of restrictive security systems. The kernel is provided with its own independent services and redundant utilities to ensure its ability to function in an emergency.
In keeping with the client's environmentally conscious approach of adapting an existing facility rather than opting for new construction, SHCA specified the use of low VOC adhesives, sealants, paints and carpeting, roofing material designed to reduce the heat island effect, as well as water-efficient plumbing fixtures. County offices will remain open during construction, requiring a complex phasing of this project. The reconstructed facility is scheduled to be completed by January 2009.
