Hatfield, MA At their recent annual meeting and design-build awards event the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) New England Region, presented the Five College Library Annex project team with a Bronze Award in the Building Construction category.

The winning collaboration included Five Colleges, Inc. (FCI), CSL Consulting, Cutler Associates, Cutler Design, RDK Engineers, TFMoran and Berkshire Design. Prior to construction, Cutler worked with FCI and CSL on site selection. The design-build team then spent 12 months building the new 35,000 s/f climate-controlled library storage facility. The design provides for 9,000 s/f of receiving, materials processing, meeting and office space, with the remaining 26,000 s/f storage space, outfitted with 24-foot high shelving units that have a capacity to house 2.5 million volumes.

The success of the project, having maximized the value and efficiencies of taking a design-build approach, is proven by the numbers. “Given the complexities of the site prep work and sophisticated building systems necessary for achieving the strict control of temperature and humidity, we are thrilled that the facility was completed on schedule and well under budget,” said Neal Abraham, executive director of Five Colleges, Inc.

The new facility serves students and faculty members from Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst – collectively known as the Five College Consortium.

The 12-acre parcel is at the junctions of the I-91 Exit 22 ramp, West St. (Rtes. US 5 and MA 10) and Plain Rd.