SCIAME

SCIAME
CONSTRUCTION
The Art of Sustainable Building
For more than 35 years, Sciame Construction has adhered to a philosophy
that has become its company trademark, “Where Building is an Art.” It is
no surprise, therefore, that the firm’s commitment to building sustainable
projects has drawn it to more creative and innovative projects throughout the
New York tri-state area than ever before.
Museum of the Moving Image
Rendering Credit: Leeser Architecture

Bronx Library Center
Always striving to exceed its clients’ expectations, Sciame’s meticulous
examination and evaluation of each project’s detail has
created a sensitivity toward, and an appreciation for, an array of
uniquely designed ‘green’ projects.
And so it shows. From projects in higher education, to cultural
centers, to historic sites, Sciame makes sure the design intent is
realized by applying creative approaches including extensive and
detailed mock-ups, and through its use of Building Information
Modeling, a software that “builds a project virtually to find out if
there are going to be any problems with the construction process
before we actually build it,” says Darrin McIntyre, Director of
Sciame’s MEP Department and BIM Development.
EDUCATION
This attention to detail has resulted in a variety of exceptional
sustainable projects in the Higher Education arena, and the
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art’s
New Academic Building (designed by Morphosis and Gruzen
Samton Architects) is one of them. Standing at 41 Cooper
Square in Manhattan , the 170,000 square-foot vertical piazza
is contained within a semi-transparent, rectangular enclosure.
The eight-story block, which is composed of three intensified
plazas, is connected by a 120’ atrium space containing circulation
stairways. Functioning dually as a space for circulation
as well as oversized lanterns, each is clad on the exterior with
illuminated translucent material creating a double skin. Completed
in 2009, this project is expected to achieve the highest
level of LEED certification – Platinum. “We oversaw all credits
required by LEED for maximum sustainability on this project,”
says Pradnya Narayanan, LEED AP and Project Manager. In
addition, the project was selected winner of the coveted Concrete
Industry Board Roger H. Corbetta Award in 2008, as well
as a number of other awards since that time.
For the CUNY New York City College of Technology New
Academic Building located in downtown Brooklyn (designed
by Perkins Eastman Architects), Sciame is responsible for the
construction of this 350,000 square-foot project scheduled to
break ground within the next year. Aiming for LEED Silver
Certification, the existing structures will be demolished to
create a new state-of-the-art science and health-related facility.
Once completed, the building will house technologically advanced
instructional spaces, a 1,000-seat auditorium, a gymnasium and a
subterranean parking garage with capacity for 25 cars.
Moving on to New York’s sister state of New Jersey, Sciame
will be responsible for the new construction of Princeton
University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment
(architect: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects). Reflective of
the growing movement for increased research and teaching in
sustainability, these buildings will house highly advanced laboratories
as well as student organization spaces, meeting rooms
and faculty and staff offices. “Everything about the building is
being designed with sustainability in mind,” says Charles Hsu,
AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager. Targeting LEED Silver Certification,
the 110,000 square-foot project is slated for completion
in 2015.
Bronx Library Center
Photo Credit: Jeff Goldberg/Esto
CONSTRUCTING
SUSTAINABLE
PROJECTS IS SOMETHING
SCIAME AS A
FIRM IS HIGHLY
COMMITTED TO
-Joseph Mizzi, President
Columbia University - Faculty House
Photo Credit: Tom Crane
The Cooper Union
Photo Credit: Iwan Baan

Museum of the Moving Image
Rendering Credit: Leeser Architecture
EVERYTHING ABOUT THE
BUILDING IS BEING
DESIGNED WITH
SUSTAINABILITY
IN MIND
-Charles Hsu, AIA, LEED AP,
Project Manager
As the first public building to receive LEED Certification in
New York State, the Bronx Library Center (architect: Richard
Dattner & Partners Architects PC) has become a national standard
for sustainable design. Completed in the Fall of 2005, Sciame
implemented numerous sustainable features into the construction
of the building including lighting controls, enhanced
ventilation, and energy efficient systems that make use of
‘green’ recycled and regional materials. The 80,000 square-foot
project comprises an 80-foot-high, five-story building boasting
a distinctive swooping roof design, a complex high performance
curtain wall providing natural light while preventing glare, and
granite on the exterior to complement the brick texture of the
library’s surrounding neighborhood. Perhaps most challenging
was obtaining a LEED Silver Rating while keeping the project
under budget, which Sciame and the project team accomplished
while also completing the project ahead of schedule. It
is therefore not surprising that the Bronx Science Center was
the recipient of the AIA New York State Citation for Design
Excellence in 2008.
Liberty Island Retail Pavilion
Rendering Credit: Acheson Doyle Partners Architects, P.C.
CULTURAL
In Queens, Sciame is responsible for the construction and
expansion of a building housing the nation’s largest collection
of moving image artifacts, the Museum of the Moving Image.
Comprising a 35,000 square-foot addition and 50,000
square-foot renovation, Leeser Architecture has developed
a vibrant design to meet the Museum’s increasing membership
demand. Targeting LEED Silver Certification upon its
planned completion in early 2011 and committed to utilizing
green building practices and environmentally responsible
design, the interior work will also consist of digital media
galleries, new theaters, a 300-seat, state-of-the-art screening
room, education centers and a completely interactive
3-D gallery. Allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves into
art and even star in their own video games with CAVE (computer
aided virtual environment technology), the Museum will
be one of only three public places in the world offering this
new technology, and is the only museum of its kind in the
United States.
Moving back in history, Sciame has also been selected to
enhance the visitor experience on Liberty Island by constructing
a comfortable and dedicated space where visitors may shop
as they traverse the historic island. The new Retail Pavilion,
designed by Acheson Doyle Partners Architects PC, is targeting
LEED Platinum Certification and will include retail space, a
dining plaza, and restrooms upon its completion later this year.
It will be built of a steel frame, clad in Cor-Ten bolted columns
and beams which, with a variety of other carefully created features,
will minimize any impact to the historical fabric of this
part of the island should the Pavilion ever be removed. “Accomplishing
this is very important to us,” says McIntyre. “We
also want to make sure that there is absolutely no disturbance
to the existing soil.”
In Brooklyn, the Prospect Park Lakeside Center, designed by
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is being built by Sciame

to include two ice rinks (one exposed recreational rink
and a covered hockey rink), dining facilities, event spaces,
locker rooms, a gift shop, offices, and extensive landscaping
including a paved green roof. Targeted for LEED
Silver Certification to be completed in Winter 2012, it will
house one of the few green roof canopies to exist over an
ice skating rink.
INTERIORS
In addition to building sustainable projects in the higher
education and cultural areas, Sciame has also put its skills
to work in commercial interiors. Perhaps the finest example
of this is its completion of the new Perkins Eastmandesigned
General Electric Corporate Headquarters for
Energy Finance in Stamford, CT. Comprised of 275,000
square-feet, the fit-out consisted of lobby spaces, multipurpose
rooms, open landscape furniture areas, private
offices, a conference center, pantries, a cafeteria, retail
store, auditorium and a fitness center. Completed in 2008
in only four and a half months, it met the client’s original
requested move-in schedule, while concurrently earning
Commercial Interior Gold LEED Certification.
It is clear that Sciame Construction’s dedication to creating,
and even transforming, buildings by enabling them
to earn LEED Certification knows no bounds, particularly
as the construction process undergoes changes demanding
more innovative forms of sustainability. “Constructing
sustainable projects is something Sciame as a firm is highly
committed to,” says the firm’s president, Joseph Mizzi. “It
will benefit both people and the environment for many
years to come.”
Prospect Park - Lakeside Center
Rendering Credit: Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects