| Prior to the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001 (9/11), PB had contracted with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide construction quality management services for the design and construction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) new headquarters in Newark, New Jersey. This was a high security project. Immediately after the work order was signed, our team had to undergo FBI background checks and interviews with a federal agent. We were cleared and began design review March 2000.
From ground breaking in May of 2001 through occupancy in December of 2002, the construction site was in a “locked down” state. All construction workers were fingerprinted and required to have background check clearances. Visitors were announced in advance and escorted on the site at all times. Federal agents watched and documented the site and the surrounding area around the clock.
Events of 9/11 put these security restrictions in an entirely new perspective. The destruction of New York’s World Trade Center was visible from the Newark FBI Headquarters job site, and the significance of this act of terror on the progress of this job was tangible. Everyone who was a part of this project in any way shared a sense of comradery. We completed the project on schedule even with the extensive security requirements and in the face of the threat of terrorism.
High Security Projects Post 9/11
The destruction of 9/11 included 6 World Trade Center, which housed the U.S. Customs House. Relocation projects were critical. These projects were also difficult because of the numerous security requirements; special design requirements for investigation areas, prisoner processing areas, and computer command centers; sensitive laboratory specifications and even secure parking regulations.
PB worked with GSA to reestablish the New York headquarters for the U.S. Customs Service, which is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. Employing PB for construction quality management on this and other government security projects naturally followed because our team:
• Had already been cleared by the FBI
• Was familiar with high level security construction requirements
• Had proven its ability as a team player, reviewer, monitor and mediator
• Was familiar with Security Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF) and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) detailed requirements.
The construction of and the physical protection for an SCIF must either prevent or detect forced or surreptitious entry of the facility. Further, a means must exist for the apprehension of any intruder before he or she can gain access to classified material. Specifications defining general construction of walls, floors, ceilings, and doors must be followed, as well as those governing acoustics, ventilation, and infrastructure penetrations. PB carefully monitored and continues to monitor the construction of these facilities working as partners with the end user tenants as well as GSA.
Our post 9/11 projects include the following:
• Customs and Border Patrol Relocation, Midtown Manhattan
• Immigration & Custom Enforcement Relocation, Manhattan
• Customs and Border Patrol Relocation, Newark, New Jersey
• FBI/NYC Police Joint Task Force, Manhattan
• FBI Foreign Languages Project, Manhattan
• Security Pavilion, Jacob Javits Federal Building, Manhattan
• Security Pavilion, Court of International Trade, Manhattan
• Security Upgrade, Rodino Building, Newark, New Jersey
All of these projects incorporated many security requirements and detailing including:
• HVAC safety regulations specifically for air intake
• Blast analyses to assess progressive collapse
• Blast construction requirements to meet high-level performance criteria or the new GSA medium blast protection level
• Electrical and fire alarm separation to remove the threat of communications intervention
• Special window requirements to prevent others from seeing what is on computer screens
• Special window films to reduce the glass fragment hazard.
In one facility, due to the large quantity of SCIFs required, an alternate solution was proposed. The majority of the floor was to be constructed as a single SCIF. The initial response was that this solution would be cost prohibitive. After we reviewed the details, however, it became apparent that a single SCIF of say 10,000 square feet is less costly than eight SCIFS of 500 square feet each within a great non-SCIF space. The reasons are:
• The infrastructure supplied to each of these spaces and/or crossing through these spaces increases the cost.
• The acoustical requirements for an SCIF, particularly the door assemblies, in and of themselves are costly and require long lead times.
Special challenges of the design of the new security pavilions required the accommodation and support of the latest in security screening equipment. These pavilions also meet the latest GSA construction standards, including blast criteria and physical locations of fresh air intake louvers that ensure their security away from insecure open access.
Our Team Rises to the Occasion
Each project involved its own set of program requirements in addition to meeting high security standards. Our team’s familiarity with these standards as well as good technical knowledge proved to be a great asset. Our ability to adapt to the standards as they continued to be revised to incorporate the state-of-the-art technologies proved to be even more important. Our team’s greatest strength, however, was promoting cooperation among all stakeholders on each project, something that ensured open communication and thereby resulted in the incorporation of the very best technologies, keenest innovations and the most appropriate design solutions.
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