New Emergency Management Headquarters Scheduled to Open Summer 2015

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, June 8, 2013 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Architects Design Group (ADG), a nationally recognized public safety architecture firm, in association with Barnard Architects, was recently selected for the programming, master planning and design of a 56,075 square feet Emergency Management Headquarters for Chatham County.

The new headquarters will provide space for the following operational departments: Emergency Operations Center, County-wide Data Center, future Traffic Management Center, future 911 Communications Center, and space for the Maritime Coast Guard. The initial build-out is comprised of 40,625 square feet of finished space, an additional 11,359 square feet of shelled-out space for the future program components and a central energy plant of 4,091 square feet.

Being a coastal community, Chatham County is in great need of a hardened, sustainable facility. The County’s current Emergency Management departments are scattered between several buildings that were not designed to house such specialized components and are too small to accommodate emergency responders during a significant natural or man-made disaster. It is the County’s wish to build one cohesive building to house all emergency management departments.

The proposed site for the new building is located just inside the Montgomery Street perimeter gate of Hunter Army Airfield. The five acre, 30+ ft. elevation site makes a suitable location for this type of facility. Located on the southeast coast of Georgia, with a real threat of a direct hit from a major hurricane, the new headquarters building is being designed to withstand category-5 hurricane forces and has complete redundancies of the critical infrastructure including emergency generated power supply, HVAC systems, a potable water well, and a temporary sanitary holding tank. “The community depends on emergency responders to prepare for and provide response, mitigation, and recovery from emergency incidents,” said Architects Design Group President Ian Reeves, AIA. “Disaster situations change continuously and we design these specialized facilities and operations to be survivable in order to help the community when they otherwise can’t help themselves,” noted Reeves.

In addition to the building’s survivable elements, the headquarters is being designed to achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Construction is anticipated to be completed by summer of 2015.

Established in 1971, Architects Design Group is a national, full-service architectural and planning firm that specializes in the innovative design of public sector architecture, including public safety, law enforcement, communications, and emergency operations center facilities throughout the United States. To learn more about Architects Design Group, visit www.adgusa.org.

Katy Gronert
Architects Design Group
407-647-1706
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