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Best of 2005 Awards
Queens Supreme Court
Award of Merit: Renovation
A major renovation completed in August has returned the 60-year-old
Queens Supreme Courthouse in Jamaica, N.Y., to its former
grandeur.
"The millwork, the mechanical, the brass - everything
is beautiful," one of the Best of 2005 judges said.
The $54 million effort entailed a complete interior overhaul,
along with upgrades to energy-efficient mechanical, electric,
plumbing, and life-safety systems.
Originally built during the Depression era, the courthouse's
interior spaces have colored marble, sculpted details, wood-paneled
courtrooms, decorative paint finishes on walls and ceilings,
and custom bronze light fixtures and doorways. Three of the
floors feature double-height stories that create high-ceilinged
courtrooms and public corridors with wide, barrel-vaulted
ceilings.
Through the years, poor maintenance and improper improvements
destroyed certain features and much of the original ambiance.
The building also had limited air conditioning, with some
parts lacking any service and other parts served by heating
and ventilation systems that were old or inoperative.
The New York City Department of Citywide Administration,
working in conjunction with the Dormitory Authority of the
State of New York, tapped Wank Adams Slavin Associates of
New York for design and engineering, the Velez Organization
of the Bronx as construction manager, and Condor Associates
of Irvington, N.J., as general contractor.
A critical project task involved adding new mechanical systems
while avoiding damage to the building's historic fabric. The
design team created a plan to conceal the new HVAC system
and to reframe and enlarge the metal mansard roof to accommodate
the new air-handling equipment.
Other features of the HVAC design included maintaining the
existing vertical duct risers to avoid destruction of the
lavish courtroom interiors and surveying the concealed areas
to find space for new lighting and sprinkler systems.
The infrastructure work also involved replacing the boilers,
enlarging the refrigeration plant, and adding a screened cooling
tower atop the reconfigured attic roof. The project team also
enlarged and modified the electrical service rooms to accommodate
new switchgear required for the increased loads.
The team designed and installed new courtroom lighting, supplementing
historic chandeliers with efficient glare-free fixtures. In
other areas, it added emergency lighting.
The building has a new fire alarm and communications system
designed to meet New York City code requirements, as well
as a fire sprinkler system, fire pump, and water-booster system
that replaced an interior penthouse water-storage tank. And
the team reconfigured all public restrooms for accessibility.
At the front public entrance, the team installed an exterior
wheelchair lift to the portico level and automatic door operators.
In the rear of the building, it removed a steep ramp and revolving
door and replaced them with vestibule steps, interior wheelchair
and materials lifts, and separate entrances for deliveries,
staff, and prisoners.
The team also enlarged and modernized the computer network
center with a new telephone system, security center, and network
servers capable of handling all building data systems. Each
courtroom now has full audio and video facilities.
The court remained open and operational throughout the renovation,
thanks to a phasing and move-in program designed to keep interruptions
to a minimum. As part of the staging, the team built two temporary
courtrooms and simultaneously renovated two courtrooms and
related systems on each floor before assigning crews to work
on the next pair of courtrooms.
Key Players
Owner: N.Y.C. Department
of Citywide Administration
Developer: Dormitory
Authority of the State of New York
Architect: Wank Adams
Slavin Associates
Structural Engineer:
Maitra Associates
Construction Manager:
Velez Organization
General Contractor:
Condor Associates
Electrical Contractor: QNCC
Electric
Plumbing Contractor:
Skountzos Plumbing
HVAC Contractor: Awl
Mechanical
Sprinkler Contractor:
Cyan Contracting
Millwork Contractor:
Midhattan Woodworking
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