SHCA and Cameron Engineering to design 65,000 s/f facility for $190 million

Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA), in conjunction with Cameron Engineering, has been awarded a contract to design the new $190 million New York State Center of Innovation and Excellence in Homeland Security. The center is intended to foster the development, evaluation and deployment of effective and affordable system solutions that address the nation's and the state's security requirements.  Its goal is to facilitate field applications of the latest scientific discoveries and technological developments in both industry and academia. The 65,000 s/f facility will house a main computer and communication complex, approximately 20 research cells, a modeling and simulation lab and digital theater as well as an integration and demonstration center. It will also feature a lecture hall or large conference room with broadband capabilities to link it with other organizations that are part of the virtual homeland security network. Additional meeting rooms, administrative and product support areas and a lunch room round out the center's facilities. The New York State Center will be part of a network of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence proposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  The department has already named three such centers at Texas A&M University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Southern California.