AIA-NJ Recognizes DMR Architects With 2012 COTE Award

July 18, 2012

Ocean County College Building in Tom’s River, N.J., Recognized for Sustainable Design

The Committee on the Environment (COTE) of the AIA-NJ recently announced DMR Architects, a full service architectural firm based in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., as a 2012 Merit Award winner of AIA-NJ’s COTE Top Ten Green Projects Award, which recognizes outstanding built work in the area of sustainable design in New Jersey and/or by a New Jersey architect. The firm won the award for its design of the John C. Bartlett Jr. Hall, an academic and multi-use building at Ocean County College in Toms River, N.J.

“We are thrilled to announce DMR as the winner of this year’s AIA-NJ COTE award,” said Natasha Suzansky, AIA, Chair of the COTE Awards committee. “DMR designed a new beautiful campus building that pushed the envelope of meeting sustainability goals. By presenting DMR with this award, we celebrate a top contribution to sustainable projects within New Jersey, and we hope that this will be used as a model for other college and university projects.”

Completed in 2009, the 32,000-square-foot John C. Bartlett, Jr. Hall, which provides classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices and meeting spaces for the college, received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver (LEED) Certification, a designation for projects demonstrating exemplary efforts in green or sustainable design from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The building’s green attributes include using recycled, locally manufactured materials in the construction process; car charging stations for electric vehicles; a rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar system, which generates onsite clean electricity for the college; and high efficiency windows.

The space, which is outfitted with permanent educational signage about its “green” attributes, is also used as an educational tool for the more than 10,000 Ocean County College students, faculty and staff and nearly 100 monthly visitors, as well as for children visit the college as part of camp ecological and environmental programs.

After jury deliberation, the award was presented to DMR’s senior designer, Kurt Vierheilig, AIA, LEED AP; and DMR’s director of sustainability, Pradeep Kapoor, at AIA-NJ’s third annual green conference, East Coast Green, which was recently held at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, N.J.

The conference, titled “Re: Thinking Green,” was held for the second consecutive year at Brookdale Community College and included three educational tracks: “Re: Codify,” which looked at the different sustainability codes and policies facing the architecture and construction industries; “Re: Certify,” which helped LEED professionals to maintain their credentials; and “Re: View,” which provided case studies of successful sustainable applications.

The conference was also preceded by a full day of workshops sponsored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).   Read more about this years East Coast Green conference.
Last year, Maplewood, N.J.-based The Goldstein Partnership won an Honor Award for its design of the Maplewood Police Department, which entailed a rooftop solar PV system; high efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); and an energy-efficient building envelope. In addition, Trenton-N.J.-based Spiezle Architectural Group won a Merit Award for its design of a TD Bank branch in Farmingdale, N.Y., that received LEED Gold certification from the USGBC through the use of sustainable interior finishes, added roof insulation and a solar canopy made of double-sided solar panels; and Westwood, N.J.-based WJM Architect won a merit award for its design of a two-story, single-family residence that accommodates a partially paralyzed family member, while also reducing square footage to decrease environmental impact.  See more on 2011 awards.

By admin | Posted in AIA-NJ News, Architecture in NJ, Environment | Tagged: AIANJ COTE Top10, COTE, DMR Archtiects, East Coast Green, John C Bartlett Jr Hall | Comments (0)