structural

The Mineola UFSD approached H2M with the idea of creating a new, state-of-the-art library addition suited to Pre-K through second grade students attending the Hampton Street Elementary School. The new building addition is a modern approach to library science, with an integrated library/media center. It features a Wi-Fi network allowing students to work from laptops or iPads at any workstation or table. Specifically designed for small children, the space incorporates cheerful colors, small furniture, and expansive windows to allow natural light to flood the space. Many of the windows are very low, allowing children to have views of the exterior when the sit. There is a storytelling area with soft seating, as well as an alphabet sculpture hanging to remind children that “Reading is fun.” The library accommodates 10,000 volumes, can provide seating for two classes at the same time. The design incorporates many green features, including: energy-efficient building envelope, daylight harvesting, and environmentally-friendly finishes such as linoleum flooring and carpet woven from recycled material.

H2M recently constructed a new Individualized Residential Alternative NY; to accommodate non-ambulatory adults with developmental disabilities. Located in Brooklyn, the new, one-story, 12-bed IRA was constructed on a vacant lot and designed to conform with all local and state codes, including the requirements of NYCRR Title 14, Chapter XIII, Parts 635 and 686. Its new one-story, modern design has been integrated with the site to afford views from the interior spaces to the exterior landscape, which was designed with indigenous, low-maintenance plantings. The building’s amenities include: full accessible on-site parking and covered drop-off areas; radiant floor heating, to provide added comfort to residents and provide significant energy savings; and comprehensive life safety systems including fire sprinklers, alarms, and carbon monoxide detection. Built-in artwork, casework and other features reduce the institutional feel and make the facility feel like home, while aesthetically-pleasing, low-maintenance materials and fixtures offer durability and long-term cost conservation. H2M worked with DASNY to have the site backfilled with soil that would have been deemed “waste” from another DASNY project located nearby (Brooklyn DDSO); this allowed for the creation of a level site and accessible backyard area for the building’s occupants at a considerably reduced cost.

Located on the scenic Hudson River, only a few miles upriver from Manhattan, the 14-acre BICC site in Yonkers, NY was in bad shape. The site’s industrial history began in the 1880s when it was used for manufacturing wire and cable products. A 130-year history as an industrial site had left the property contaminated with PCBs, lead and VOCs. Blackacre Partners repurposed and revived the property as a film stage from 1999-2007, when it was used for major motion pictures, including Kate and Leopold, Johnny Depp’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Zoolander and The Stepford Wives. Working for Blackacre, H2M provided environmental engineering support for demolition and clean-up activities on the property. Site buildings totaling over 200,000 square feet were demolished, 1,100 feet of subsurface stormwater drains were removed, over 1,500 feet of bulkhead was replaced, and 40,000 tons of impacted soils and 23,000 cubic yards of PCB-impacted river sediments were excavated and disposed. H2M conducted pre- and post-remediation soil and sediment borings, prepared Work Plans and provided full-time inspection services and construction coordination throughout the remediation activities. Our analysis included a tidal influence study and aquifer pump tests to assess hydraulic properties for the design of a dewatering system. Upon completing the work, H2M collected and analyzed over 200 post-excavation endpoint samples and prepared a Remediation Report documenting the work. The final phase of the project includes removal of impacted river sediments. Once completed, the property will be ready for yet another life. Several redevelopment projects have been proposed, including a $900 million residential/retail complex on the Hudson River waterfront called Point Street Landing

For over 55 years, the Mastic Volunteer Ambulance Company has been providing emergency medical services to the communities of Mastic, Shirley, Mastic Beach, and Moriches, responding to up to 3,000 calls per year. The current home of Mastic Ambulance is undergoing a much-needed renovation and addition, as the company has outgrown the facility and is in dire need of additional apparatus storage space, administrative space, and meeting space. Vehicles are currently stored outside and there is no proper meeting space for members or the Board. This project, which will pursue LEED Gold certification, was designed to repurpose as much of the existing building as possible while keeping any additions as green as possible. The new design incorporates six additional apparatus bays, as well as a second-floor addition of meeting and administrative space. Among its many sustainable features are a geothermal heating and cooling system, low-flow water fixtures, recycled building materials, and a white roof. In addition, a Structural Insulated Panel System (SIPS) will be utilized for the exterior wall and roof packages, providing continuous insulation for the entire building envelope. This will drastically reduce the facility’s heating and cooling demands.

Covering 1,400 acres and over 220 buildings, the Hauppauge Industrial Park is the second largest industrial park on the east coast. Despite being home to 1,300 businesses employing more than 55,000 people, only a portion of the parcels within the park were connected to sewers. The two existing treatment facilities in the district had a combined flow capacity of 450,000 gallons per day. H2M designed an expansion of the Suffolk Business Center treatment plant, which allowed an increase in capacity to 1.65 million gallons per day. The expansion will allow 250 additional properties to be connected to sewers. The expansion plan also includes construction of nine additional miles of gravity sewer; three new sewage pumping stations with three miles of force main piping; and conversion of a smaller WWTP into a wastewater pumping station. The benefits of the project are many. Placing all of the businesses in the park on sewers will remove hundreds of septic systems, making a major positive impact on Long Island groundwater quality. The project also allows for expansion of the industrial properties both horizontally and vertically beyond their current footprint, allowing for two- and three-story buildings to be developed. All around, the project is a win-win, allowing for growth and economic development in Hauppauge while protecting the environment. The $44.8 million project was completed within the client’s budget, and has since won over a once skeptical community. It has garnered positive feedback from area residents, as well as local politicians, and won a 2015 Silver Engineering Excellence Award in the Waste and Storm Water category from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC NY).

Starting with a clean slate, the Montaukett Learning Center was designed and constructed on an open piece of land on Suffolk County Community College’s Eastern Campus. The project involved the design of a new, sustainable library and learning resource center as part of the college’s green initiative. Blending in with the surrounding natural environment, open grid paving was used to control stormwater quantity and quality. Water usage in the building was optimized using water-efficient fixtures and water-efficient landscaping. The use of local materials decreased the project’s carbon footprint, and recycled and low-VOC materials help create a comfortable and healthy environment for building staff and visitors. An automated building management system regulates mechanical systems for optimal energy-efficiency. Daylighting techniques and efficient light fixtures were used to illuminate the interior while exterior lighting was designed to reduce light pollution.

H2M recently renovated two Long Island Mercedes-Benz car dealerships using cutting-edge designs, while also reducing the dealerships’ carbon footprints. Mercedes-Benz of Smithtown and Mercedes-Benz of Huntington have been updated to reflect Mercedes-Benz USA’s new corporate identity standards. Mercedes-Benz of Smithtown vertically expanded their facility by over 26,000 square feet, with a new basement and a second story addition. The project included the demolition of one half of the original showroom. Utilizing MB USA’s corporate identity standards, H2M modified the corporate space standards to meet the competition’s needs. A white TPO roof was installed to keep the building cooler in summer, and the showroom features a car elevator to bring vehicles stored in the basement up to the showroom floor. Mercedes-Benz of Huntington added over 7,000 square feet. of floor space and a brand new, 163 square feet. drive-in recycled water car wash. The car wash captures and filters greywater, introducing only 20% fresh water to each wash. The new two-story showroom allows for cars to be displayed on both levels. Both facilities feature an abundance of sustainable features. A Building Management System (BMS) is used to control air conditioning and heating. All units are tied into a central control module, which allows for remote access to the units from a computer, cell phone or tablet. Units automatically adjust to internal and external temperatures to keep the interior spaces at a constant temperature. Personnel elevators at both showrooms feature a Machine-Roomless (MRL) elevator. This type of elevator is traction driven, using less electricity and no hydraulic fluids or oils. One of the most striking features of both designs is the floor to ceiling glass walls that make up three sides of each showroom. Spanning over 20 feet, the glass walls utilize double-pane, tinted, low-E glass, which reduces solar gain through the glass and insulates better than regular double-pane glass. The full height glass walls rely on internal structural reinforcement for support.

Over a span of nearly 80 years, the Borough of Lehighton Fire Department in Pennsylvania operated through two separate firehouses on the same street. The vision of creating one cohesive facility ultimately drove the Lehighton Fire Department to purchase the properties between their two buildings. After the Department acquired all of the property necessary to fulfill its goal, H2M was retained to design a unique, 18,000 square foot infill addition. There were two major challenges H2M overcame in order to successfully design the addition to the two existing buildings; one of which dates back to the 1910s, and the other to the 1930s. The first was to keep both existing buildings fully operational during the ongoing construction, which was done by retaining the existing stairwells and elevators within the design. The design team also faced the challenge of varying elevations between the two existing buildings. As a resolution, various floor levels were manipulated to meet the exterior street level. The overall design resulted in a two-story addition with six new fire truck bays, as well as bunker gear and apparatus support spaces. Careful thought was put into the addition’s exterior, which blended into the existing buildings by matching their exterior finishes. Staff amenities include new meeting and training rooms, offices, a dispatch office, a fitness center, a day room and kitchen, bunk rooms, and locker rooms. New egress stairwells, ramps and an ADA-compliant elevator are also included within the new infill addition.