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Firms Selected to Design City Public Buildings

May 2, 2013

Today, David J. Burney, FAIA, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction, announced the selection of 26 architecture firms in the latest round of the City's Design + Construction Excellence program. The program recruits world-renowned and emerging architects to design the City's new public buildings and other capital construction projects. The 26 winning firms were selected from a competitive field of 264 applicants through DDC's innovative Quality-Based Selection process, an open request for proposals that emphasizes high architectural standards to ensure that all City buildings, regardless of size, are creatively designed, beautiful, and built to last.

The Design + Construction Excellence program began in 2004 as a pilot project under the leadership of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The program is now the primary process by which DDC selects architects to work on City projects. Likewise, Quality-Based Selection is now a permanent procurement option for all City agencies. The winning firms are now pre-qualified for three years to provide architectural and engineering services for City projects. DDC will match firms from this group to specific projects in the City's capital program.

"Our buildings reflect our values – and that's why the Mayor's Design and Construction Excellence program is so important. Through this program, we're creating high-quality buildings to provide high-quality service to the public, and improving the look and feel of the City's neighborhoods, as well. Working in partnership with these talented architects and DDC's client agencies, we will continue to build New York's libraries, firehouses, police precincts, EMS stations, cultural institutions, and other projects with creativity, beauty, and an emphasis on community improvement," said Commissioner Burney. The 26 firms are divided into two groups: 20 firms will be considered for design work on projects valued at $15 million or less, and 6 firms will be considered for projects valued at more than $15 million.

The 20 firms in the $15 million-and-under category were chosen from 174 submissions. The firms are: Abruzzo Bodziak Architects, Bade Stageberg Cox Architecture, Belmont Freeman Architects, Biber Architects, Cooper Joseph Studio, FR-EE Fernando Romero EnterprisE + HS2, Gray Organschi Architecture, Hanrahan Meyers Architects, Leroy Street Studio, Levenbetts, Matthew Baird Architects, Monica Ponce de Leon Design and Architecture, Moorehead & Moorehead, nArchitects, Rice + Lipka Architects, Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects, Spacesmith, Studio SUMO, WXY, and Yoshihara McKee Architects.

For projects budgeted above $15 million, 89 applications were received, resulting in six awards. Those firms are: Allied Works Architecture, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Ennead, Steven Holl Architects, Studio Gang Architects, and TEN Arquitectos.

In addition to the innovative procurement of architectural and construction services, the program also includes new design- and planning-phase strategies -including detailed peer and constructability reviews, and assigning design liaisons to each project to ensure that design quality remains on equal footing with schedule and budget throughout the life of the project- as well as continuing education programs for the City's in-house design and construction personnel.

Projects in design through previous rounds of the Design + Construction Excellence program include the Hunters Point Branch Library, the renovation of Times Square, the Staten Island Zoo Aquarium renovation, and the Bronx Children's Museum. Projects currently in construction include the 121st Police Precinct in Staten Island, the Queens Museum of Art, the Stapleton Branch Library in Staten Island, and the Greenpoint EMS Station. Completed projects include the Queens Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, MoMA P.S. 1's entry kiosk, DOT's Remsen Yard facility, and the New York Public Theater lobby renovation.

DDC is the City's primary capital construction project manager. DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings, such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, courthouses, and senior centers. What's more, DDC delivers new or upgraded roadways, sewers, water mains, and other infrastructure projects in communities throughout the city. Over the last decade, DDC has completed more than 750 miles of new roadways and sidewalks, 700 miles of water mains, and 500 miles of storm and sanitary sewers – all of which are essential for a vibrant city like New York. To manage this $8 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies and with emerging and world-renowned architects and consultants, whose experience and creativity bring efficient, innovative, and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to City projects.