*퍼펙트 큐브 [ SOM ] perfect cube

in new york, SOM has completed a new facility designed to enhance NYC’s 911 emergency response system. contained within a perfect cube, the public safety answering center II (PSAC II) brings together multiple city agencies, including the police department, the fire department, and emergency medical services. located on a prominent nine-acre site in the bronx, the 450,000 square foot building has been designed to be as secure as possible, while still contributing to the surrounding urban fabric.

serving as a back-up facility to the city’s primary call center, PSAC II increases new york city’s ability to maintain communication in the event of a natural disaster or large-scale emergency. designed by SOM as a perfect cube, the structure’s almost windowless elevations are the result of security concerns. to reduce the building’s monolithic appearance, the architects developed a serrated façade that includes recycled aluminum.

the cubic structure is bordered by a raised bank of wild grass, which helps to protect the facility and shield views of the surface parking from the nearby hutchinson river and pelham parkways. the landscape, which requires no irrigation, also offers the building’s occupants a connection with the natural world. meanwhile, the project’s interiors are designed to be soothing environments for the site’s emergency response teams.

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Public Safety Answering Center II: Overall Time-Lapse from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP on Vimeo.

client: new york city department of design and construction

architect and interior designer: skidmore, owings & merrill LLP (SOM)

design partner: gary haney

managing partner: laura ettelman 

managing partner: peter magill

technical partner: carl galioto 

interior design partner: stephen apking 

managing director: mark regulinski 

technical director: nicholas holt 

project manager: emily mottolese 

project manager: mark leininger 

project manager: joseph sacco

senior design architect: rob rothblatt 

senior interior designer: cynthia mirbach 

senior technical coordinator: carl brown

senior technical architect: lesley campbell 

senior technical architect: ross goldsworthy

 

structural engineer: thornton tomasetti

MEP engineer: jaros baum & bolles

civil engineer: philip habib & associates

geotechnical engineer: langan engineering & environmental services

construction manager: tishman construction

active modular phytoremediation wall system (AMPS): center for architecture science & ecology (CASE)

sustainability consultant: vidaris

landscape architect: thomas balsley associates

graphic designer: lebowitz/gould design, inc.

lighting designer: domingo gonzalez associates

blast designer: thornton tomasetti

security design consultant: shen milson & wilke, LLC

acoustical and vibration designer: shen milson & wilke, LLC

vertical transportation consultant: van deusen & associates

code consultant: milrose consultants

cost estimating consultant: ellana, inc.

kitchen consultant: hopkins foodservice specialists, inc.

from designboom