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(NEW YORK, NY- March 16, 2009) – The Collection Facility South Building Project won the Silver Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies (NY), a key distinction in the 2009 Engineering Excellence Awards program.

Located in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, NY, the Collection Facility South (CFS) Building is an integral component of the Paerdegat Basin Water Quality Facilities. It was designed and constructed to serve both as a permanent headquarters for New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) collection facilities staff, and as a separate center for Community Board 18 (CB18). Prior to the project, NYCDEP staff had been housed in a temporary Butler building at the Paerdegat Pumping Station, and CB18 had lacked official space to carry out its business. The CFS Building furnished NYCDEP with a centralized, fully-equipped regional office supporting the maintenance and operation of NYC’s pumping stations and regulators, and CB18 with a dedicated location to perform its activities.

The CFS Building is unique from both a design and construction standpoint:

• In honor of Canarsie, Brooklyn’s heritage, the CFS Building was designed to echo the style of a longhouse – dwellings built by the Canarsie Indians, the area’s original inhabitants – a low-lying structure with a curving roof. Additionally, as the Canarsie constructed their longhouses from natural resources, the CFS Building also incorporates sustainable, environmentally-friendly materials, including recycled brick and stainless steel.

• The building’s scenic interior features decorative tiles and a color scheme favored by the Canarsie in their textiles and garments.

• Developed in the early 1990s, the building’s design showed tremendous foresight, integrating a range of innovative, sustainable materials to enhance the surrounding environment.

• To preserve space and natural resources, the building (and associated parking lot) was founded on newly installed Combined Sewer Overflow tanks on a site already excavated.

• During construction, proactive steps were taken to ensure minimal disruption to the community and promote a thriving environment, including erecting an earthen berm to shield construction from view; using barges to transport materials off-site; and constructing an ecologically-diverse wetland.

• The roof is composed of stainless steel, a sustainable material, of which 98% is derived from recycled materials.

• Brick was utilized widely in building design, based on its ability to be crushed, reused, and recycled back into masonry.

• A green roof was designed to cover existing tanks, transforming a concrete mass into a sustainable green space that complements the natural surroundings.

In operation 24 hours a day, the CFS Building now houses 69 NYCDEP employees, and features 15,400 sq. ft. of office space and locker facilities, with 9,200 sq. ft. of maintenance shops and storage rooms. An enclosed, 13,000 sq. ft., six-bay light maintenance garage provides personnel with a sheltered area for cost-effectively servicing vehicles and equipment. The building also contains a communications center with City-wide telemetering and monitoring equipment that monitors all City pumping stations and regulators.

Attached to the CFS Building, the Community Building occupies a 4,150-sq. ft. wing, dedicated to CB18. Comprised of conference rooms and other related features, the notably aesthetic building affords CB18 an inviting, inspiring setting to accomplish key tasks that benefit the community.

For more than half a century, Hazen and Sawyer has focused on two things: providing safe drinking water and controlling water pollution. Our range of services encompasses the planning, design, and construction management of water and wastewater-related projects – from clean water treatment, storage, and distribution to wastewater collection and treatment. Since our founding in 1951, we have grown in size to over 740 employees in 25 offices.