Stalco Construction, Ehasz Giacalone Architects Complete Upgrades at NUMC Health Sciences Library

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Stalco Construction and Ehasz Giacalone Architects have completed a $700,000 renovation and upgrade of The Peter W. Addiego Health Sciences Library at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, New York.

According to Stalco Construction President Alan Nahmias, “The renovated two-story, 12,000-square-foot library features an improved layout, energy-efficient building systems and new interior finishes.   In addition to providing print, digital and online reference materials, the space serves as a meeting and lecture facility.”

Located within a low-rise section of NUMC’s Dynamic Care Building, the Health Sciences Library is one of the largest on Long Island.   It supports the patient care, biomedical research and graduate medical education information needs of the medical staff, faculty and affiliated students.   It also serves the larger Long Island community as an information resource for professionals in all aspects of healthcare delivery.

Managed by NuHealth, Nassau University Medical Center is a 530-bed Level I Trauma Center and tertiary care teaching hospital affiliated with the Health Sciences Center of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The hospital is also affiliated with the North Shore/LIJ Health System. The 19-story medical center is located at 2201 Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow, New York.

Stalco, which served as the project’s general contractor, demolished the pre-existing interiors and constructed new interiors, the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sprinkler infrastructure, computer and telecommunications cabling and a security system.

“NUMC undertook the renovation in order to bring the library, originally constructed in the 1960s, to current technological and interior design standards,” explained EGA Partner Lou Giacalone. “The client expressed the desire to provide its medical residents, interns and faculty with a state-of-the-art research facility, as well as to create an environment that would encourage informal interaction among staff,” he added.

EGA consulted with the medical center’s executives and the librarian in order to develop a list of functions to be accommodated within the space.   In addition to research stations, the library had to include meeting and presentation areas designed in a manner that wouldn”t disturb the regular library operations.

“The renovated library’s first floor houses a checkout counter, a lounge area for eight people, 24 individual study stations and a librarian’s office,” said Stalco Senior Project Manager George Protheroe. “The second floor features an open shelving section, four study group rooms that accommodate up to six people and two conference rooms designed for groups of up to 12 and 20, respectively.”

Both the study group and conference rooms are enclosed with modular steelcase glass wall systems to eliminate a noise impact while providing the feeling of an open space and inclusion. The conference rooms are equipped with interactive white boards, as well as video conferencing and remote learning capabilities.

The second floor features a large opening in the floor, which creates the library’s atrium. Stalco replaced the handrails around the atrium, as well as along the stair leading to the second floor, with a glass, brushed aluminum and wood railing system.

The new finishes include acoustical tile and drywall soffit ceilings, fabric and vinyl wallcoverings, new millwork shelving, refurbished wooden and steel book stacks and wall and floor porcelain tiles in the bathrooms.  All new materials and paints are low VOC in order to eliminate indoor air pollution. The new sprinkler and HVAC systems match the revised ceiling and floor layouts of the renovated library.

Stalco installed new air conditioning equipment on the building’s roof, including an energy-recovery unit and a 1-ton condenser. This required reinforcing the roof structure with two 10-foot steel beams and connecting steel channel members.

In addition to general contractor Stalco and architect and interior designer EGA, the project team included construction manager SCC Construction Management Group and mechanical engineer KP Professional Engineering.

Photos courtesy of Tom Sibley/Wilk Marketing Communications.