Category Archives: Uncategorized

Preparing for the 10,000 Year Storm

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As all of us are acutely aware, June 1st was the start of Hurricane Season.  Forecasters are declaring it will be an above average summer with 12 to 18 named storms, six to 10 hurricanes and three to six major hurricanes, Category 3 and above, although precise predictions have been made more difficult by the “neutral conditions” of El Niño and La Niña.  All it takes, though, is one storm to make landfall, and the impact can be widespread.

With the devastating tornados that have raked the mid-West and southeast, we know all too well that prior planning and preparations are essential to survivability.  One question you should be asking yourself now… “Is my facility survivable?”  Unfortunately, the Tuscaloosa Emergency Operations Center was not.  The Emergency Management staff was in the direct line of the tornado and found themselves digging out of their crumbled facility.

Attached you will find an article that was recently published in “Florida Caribbean Architect” about an Emergency Operations Center in Marathon, Florida, the county seat of Monroe County in the Keys.  This facility has been designed and engineered to withstand the “10,000 Year Storm,” one with storm surge waves of 18-20 feet and sustained winds of 205 mph and gusts of 225 mph.  Designing a facility to withstand nature’s greatest fury is not only desirable, but also feasible.

Please take a moment to review this article and ask yourself if you are truly prepared.  If the answer is “no,” contact Architects Design Group to see how we can help.
To view the full article published by Florida Architect, please click here or go to: http://www.adgusa.org/10,000%20yr%20storm%20Full%20Article.pdf

Using Key Elements to Design Sustainable Structures

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Architects Design Group has made significant contributions to the application of sustainable architecture. There are several key elements of design that create exemplary projects:

Natural Lighting – The strategic use of natural lighting maximizes the energy efficiency of a facility and will reduce energy consumption costs. Natural lighting has a practical and psychological benefit by creating comfortable space for people to live and work.

Solar Orientation – The direction in which a building sits on a site directly affects its energy efficiency, environmental impact, and visual appeal. For the Florida Municipal Power Agency Headquarters, Architects Design Group oriented the building on an east/west axis to respond to the diurnal path of the sun to make optimal use of day lighting thus reducing artificial light costs. The east/west orientation assists in managing the impact of solar radiation heating the building volume.

Building Materials – Building materials such as recyclable steel, carpeting and low VOC adhesives; as well as a reflective roof finish, directly impact a building’s sustainability.

Use of Color – The visual power of color emphasizes the “tectonics” of the architecture and evokes emotional and physical response of the occupant.

Energy Efficient Equipment/Features -Two design issues, energy load reduction and equipment specifications, play key roles in the creation of an energy efficient building. Through design and prudent selection of active energy consuming systems such as HVAC and lighting, the design team can affect total building performance by reducing energy consumption, up to half of a typical facility. Interior lighting in office buildings tends to be the single largest element of energy consumption, accounting for about 30 percent of total energy costs, followed by cooling costs.

With the application of these principles, several of Architects Design Group’s projects have been recognized as exemplary examples of sustainable design: the Florida Solar Energy Center, Florida Municipal Power Agency, Orange County Landfill and Operations Facility, School District of Osceola County Transportation Center, and the new Sarasota Police Headquarters, which is the first Police facility in the state of Florida to be LEED® certified. Currently, Architects Design Group has five projects which are in the LEED® Certification process including the Gainesville Police Department Training Center, the Orange County Sheriff Sector II Building, the Greene County Public Safety Coordination Center, Charleston County EOC and 911 Call Center, and Deltona Fire Station No. 65.

Architects Design Group Designs Sanford Public Safety Complex

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Architects Design Group, national public safety architects headquartered in Winter Park, Florida recently attended the ribbon cutting for the $15.8 million, 76,000 square foot City of Sanford Public Safety Complex located in Sanford, Florida. The Public Safety Complex is located southwest of Sanford’s Historic Downtown near the Historic Goldsboro Community.

The Public Safety Complex, which joins Sanford’s Police and Fire Departments into a two-story state-of-the-art building, celebrated its grand opening last November in the new exterior Civic Plaza, situated at the prominent corner of the site. The plaza plays an important aspect of the project’s relationship to the surrounding historic neighborhood and provided the perfect setting for building’s dedication. Attendees included elected officials, the city’s Police and Fire chiefs and staff, ADG and design consultants, and the construction management team of Wharton Smith as well as many local residents.

ADG designed both departments as separate facilities that share a two story Atrium, which includes vertical circulation, lobby/reception, a Historic Apparatus Display, and Community Meeting Room that opens onto the Civic Plaza. The fully functioning Police Department will include all the necessary elements required for law enforcement; vehicle evidence processing, emergency services unit vehicle storage, evidence storage, records storage, interview rooms, and a drive through sally port, while the two-story Fire Department is comprised of a five-bay apparatus bay, crew quarters, and a training tower on the first floor and fire administration and emergency operations center on the second floor.

All critical functions of both the Police and Fire Department are contained within the exterior concrete tilt panel walls and hurricane impact glazing, which are designed to withstand 150 mph hurricane force winds. The Public Safety Facility is also designed with 100% backup to all mechanical and electrical systems to provide uninterrupted use of the facility during a catastrophic event.

SUNRISE PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX NEAR COMPLETION

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The 132,000 SF, five-story City of Sunrise Public Safety Complex is nearing completion. National police architects, Architects Design Group, and the design team, performed multiple punch walkthroughs to assist the Construction Manager to close out all remaining construction issue to the satisfaction of the City and the users. The project achieved substantial completion on February 14, 2011.

The facility includes a tactical 8-lane Firing Range; and the installation has been completed and the shooting range is open for training to the Police force. Also included in this state-of-the-art facility is the 911 Communications Center, which is currently being furnished with specialty work stations and equipment that will serve as the Joint-use Broward County/City of Sunrise 911 Public Safety Answering Point.

One of the most important components of the Public Safety Complex is the Central Energy Plant that provides 100% redundancy to all critical infrastructure components. The plant accommodates two emergency generators and a fuel tank with a minimum of 72-hour capacity at full load. The chiller plant, located within this hurricane protected structure, is fully operational and is currently providing air conditioning to the entire complex.

The two-story, 18,000 SF, Fire Station #72 is 90% completed. The major components and equipment in this building have been installed. The specialty millwork installation is on-going and finishes are almost completed.

The final completion of the complex is scheduled for the end of March 2011 and Stiles Construction, the Construction Manager, is diligently working to achieve the deadline with the best quality of work and materials selected for the project.

Architects Design Group would like to thank the City of Sunrise for having afforded us with their trust to design and oversee the construction of this $32.5 million dollar state-of-the-art Public Safety complex.

We would also like to recognize the expertise of our design team:

  • TLC Engineering for Architecture (MEP, Security and Technology)
  • TRC Worldwide Engineering (Structural)
  • Architecture Dynamics (Associate Architects for Fire Station #72)
  • Urban Resource Group, a division of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Landscape Architects)
  • Sun-Tech Engineering (Civil)

Public Safety Facilities Planning Seminar

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Public Safety Facilities Planning Seminar

Twice a year Architects Design Group joins The Center for Public Safety, Inc. to host its seminar, “Planning, Funding, and Obtaining New Public Safety, Police, Fire Rescue, Communications and Emergency Operations Centers.”

The next seminar is Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25 at the Embassy Suites North in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The two day event includes speakers on a variety of topics including space planning, funding options, construction delivery methods, and building political and community support. Attendees will also attend tours of specialized facilities and received educational materials which can only be obtained at the seminar.

This seminar is a must for any police or fire chief, sheriff, EOC or 911 dispatch directors, elected official or other public sector employee who is contemplating a new or renovated facility within the next 2-5 years.

The information and materials presented will provide “must have” information and a step-by-step plan to assist your department, agency or community in its quest for a new facility.

The seminar is now in its 11th year and has been attended by more than 500 public sector employees from across the United States and the Caribbean basin.

For more information about the seminar, the early registration discount or information on the topics covered, please contact The Center for Public Safety at 407-647-0190 or info@centerforpublicsafety.org.

The Center for Public Safety, Inc. (CPS) is an organization dedicated to grant research, planning, space needs assessments, and facility and site evaluations to assist first responders, including law enforcement, fire / rescue, emergency managers and dispatch services in the process of obtaining new or expanded facilities.

Architects Design Group (ADG), one of the nation’s leading police and EOC architects, offers full-service architectural and planning services for the innovative design of police facilities and emergency operations centers, as well as more than 90 years of combined experience and commitment to the police, emergency operations, and public safety and communications industry.