2017 Best of Design Award for Civic – Administrative: Boston Emergency Medical Services
Architect: The Galante Architecture Studio
Location: Boston, Massachusets
This new Emergency Medical Services facility replaced a dilapidated garage located on the historic grounds of the old Boston Sanatorium. Working in concert with the City of Boston Public Facilities department, the firm built a modest yet elegant building that provides security and stature through its solid shell and minimalist form. The approximately 10,500-square-foot structure comprises 11 bays—each capable of double loading and outfitted with a vehicle exhaust system—to house emergency vehicles already in Boston EMS’s fleet, plus additional equipment provided by Homeland Security in the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon attack. A robust thermal envelope, efficient LED lights and daylighting units, and low-flow plumbing fixtures help make the building energy efficient. Its inherent flexibility supports Boston’s first responders in their efforts to protect the public and manage emergencies in both the short term and foreseeable future.
“This project is a wonderful use of quotidian materials in a sharp, sophisticated way. Robert Venturi would be proud.” —Matt Shaw, senior editor, The Architect’s Newspaper (juror)
Contractor:
Gianluca Morle, WCI Corporation
Project director:
Scott Dupre with Boston Public Facilities Department
Metal Wall Panels:
Morin
Daylighting Units:
Firestone Building Products
Site Lighting:
RAB Lighting
Honorable Mention
New United States Courthouse – Los Angeles
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Location: Los Angeles, California
Modern in spirit and rooted in classic principles of federal architecture, the New United States Courthouse contains 24 courtrooms and 32 judicial chambers within 633,000 (energy efficient) square feet. Envisioned as a “floating” cube, the building’s innovative structural engineering concept elevates the glass volume above its stone base, mitigating blast threats while appearing as a single hovering form.
Honorable Mention
San Diego Central Courthouse
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Location: San Diego, California
This project consolidates San Diego County’s Criminal Trial, Family, and Civil Courts into a 22-story, 704,000-square-foot tower in the city’s downtown—a catalyst for the emerging government district. A three-story public lobby serves as the heart of the courthouse, while the traditional courthouse pediment has been reinterpreted as a shade-giving soffit.
