The Boston Society of Architects/AIA annual Design Awards celebrate excellent architecture and its ability to better communities. Projects in Massachusetts, throughout New England, and more are rewarded for their architectural excellence in nine categories, such as Sustainable Design, K-12 Facilities, and the Honor Award for Design Excellence.
Nitsch Engineering is excited that three of our projects were awarded 2020 Design Awards:
King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools and Community Complex, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Recipient of the 2020 Honor Awards for Design Excellence: Honor Award and 2020 Sustainable Design Awards: Honor Award
Nitsch Engineering provided civil engineering services for the 273,000-square-foot King Open/Cambridge Street Upper Schools and Community Complex. The site scope included underground parking, rainwater reuse, and other green infrastructure elements. The project goals were developed to align with the City of Cambridge’s commitment to a Net Zero Action Plan to transform the city into a Net Zero community by 2040.
The project is only the second school in the country to achieve the LEED v4 Schools Platinum certification. Nitsch Engineering designed the site utilities and prepared utility, demolition, and drainage plans; provided construction administration; and provided local/state environmental permitting services.
Amherst College, New Science Center, Amherst, Massachusetts
Recipient of the 2020 Sustainable Design Awards: Citation
Nitsch Engineering provided civil engineering services for the new Science Center at Amherst College – a new 220,000-square-foot building that serves as a hub for the campus. The building, which houses labs, classrooms, and offices for five academic science departments, includes a signature metal roof with four levels that is terraced into the hillside, each with glass facades overlooking green roofs. The two-phase project was completed in Fall of 2018.
We helped establish stormwater management and water conservation goals. The project exceeds the stormwater recommendations established by third-party rating systems, using strategies to retain, filter, reuse, infiltrate, and evaporate stormwater on-site to the greatest extent possible, such as rainwater harvesting tanks and a terraced landscape water element. The project won a 2019 AIA COTE Top Ten award for sustainable design excellence.
Billerica Memorial High School, Billerica, Massachusetts
Recipient of the 2020 K-12 Education Facilities Design: Honor Award
After completion of the Billerica Schools Master Plan in 2012, Nitsch Engineering began working on a feasibility study for Billerica High School. Initially, we evaluated four sites for the renovation or construction of the high school. However, we utilized SITEOPS to ultimately determine that building on the existing site would be the most cost-efficient design option.
Nitsch Engineering provided traffic engineering services for the renovation and construction of the high school to address transportation and safety related issues. We collected bicycle and pedestrian volume data, and conducted an inventory of traffic control devices, traffic circulation, and access and egress. We then developed a report summarizing the impacts of existing and proposed site improvements and methodologies. The data was used to determine the traffic circulations, overall operations, and the traffic impacts of the proposed school and to provide improvement options.
About the Boston Society of Architects
The Boston Society of Architects is committed to improving the quality of life in the communities of New England through architecture and design. The BSA offers leadership about the built environment to professionals in the Greater Boston area by establishing a network of education and engagement. The BSA aims to use expertise to make excellent architecture a valuable aspect of life in Boston.