New Haven, CT AKF Group has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 53rd annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for its role in the renovation of the Manuscripts and Archives space at Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library.
AKF Group designed new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and information technology infrastructure for the renovation, which also sought to preserve the building’s century-old architectural integrity. The space holds more than 1,700 collections of personal and family historic papers and organizational records, Yale Publications, and more than 10,000 hours of video testimonies from Holocaust survivors, liberators, and witnesses. The archival collections document America’s political, legal, diplomatic, social, and cultural history.
The renovated space was designed to specific temperature and humidity requirements, enhancing the preservation of the collection material, as well as to provide a proper secure environment for the collections to be reviewed by students. Existing pathways and millwork conceal the new piping, while major new equipment components were situated in the library’s basement. Low-noise equipment ensures a quiet environment for research and study.
The project is eligible for additional honors as part of a record 203 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program–known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”–took place in February and was conducted by a national 35-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.
Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Dinner and Gala, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.
