Our team of experts provided acoustic consulting services for the 200,000 sf confidential government training facility. The bulk of the project was devoted to classroom spaces, with lecture areas large enough to house 400 students and 200 instructors. Optimal acoustic privacy was key in project design to ensure confidentiality between spaces. Working on a secure site, our team focused on sound isolation between classrooms and hallways to meet government clearance standards. In addition to main classroom spaces with operable partitions, the project also featured large multipurpose rooms with translation booths used for real-time translation of various languages for live events. These spaces were all comprised of STC glass and required extensive noise isolation from one another. The building also included a variety of gathering spaces. Cafes, break rooms, and multipurpose areas were designed to foster student collaboration. We developed solutions to control the sound energy in transfer ducts, allowing the mechanical system to work properly, all while maintaining acoustic standards for the various partitions, which was particularly challenging due to the open ceiling design.

Cerami partnered with Studios Architecture to design the AV, IT and Security integration and consult on the acoustics for the EPA’s new modern conference center, which includes a 400-seat auditorium with flexible seating and large presentation screens, break-out rooms for smaller meetings and collaborative sessions, and a reception lobby for pre-function gathering. The scope of work included demolition of structural columns, installation of new steel beams, high end finishes/metal ceilings, STC rated partitions and bronze glass, decorative ornate metals, Skyfold Wall, AHU/HVAC system replacement, fully integrated lighting and AV systems, exterior modifications coordinated with historical society, and full security, AV/IT, and telecom packages.

The conference center employs the use of a cutting edge scalable and customizable AV system, including several cameras and flat panel displays along with integrated occupancy sensors and electronic room scheduling capabilities. As with many Cerami government projects, careful coordination of logistics and security was coordinated with government agencies, in this case the GSA and EPA security teams.

Signature Solution: Designing the full-production suite within the conference center made it possible for the EPA to hold press conferences right from the conference center and televise news to the networks. Each space within the conference center has full Microsoft Teams and Cisco VTC capabilities as well as an efficient scheduling and management system which makes it one of the most modern, technologically advanced and sought after conference centers in the government. Already many high-profile events have been held in this location.

Cerami continues to provide acoustical and audiovisual consulting services for our nation’s center for intelligence, information, and cyber security operations. As portions of the base have expanded over the last seven years, so too has our need to adapt to meet changing requirements and provide solutions for some of the most acoustically isolated buildings and spaces in the world, privacy and security being of utmost importance.

Signature Solution: Cerami is responsible for the design and construction administration of the systems infrastructure to support building-wide audiovisual components including, digital signage, war rooms, secure and unsecure conferencing areas, command and control and critical event spaces. Special attention is given to structural elements for enormous video walls, signal type and pathway separation, as well as power and heat load calculations.

In addition to the work inside the base, Cerami is also consulting at the perimeter as well with Security, IT, AV and acoustical design for the new Cryptological Museum Building. This building provides for a mix of public facing and private meeting areas.

General Services Administration (GSA), the government’s largest civilian landlord, leads the way in green building design, construction, retrofit and sustainable operations and maintenance. Cerami was chosen to provide acoustical consulting services for the GSA Green Federal Building space consolidation projects (10 stories above grade and 2 stories below), uphold their commitment to sustainable design, and serve as a forward thinking and responsible steward of our nation’s economic and natural resources. We were entrusted with optimizing spaces for tenants including the FBI, IRS, DHS and DEA, to provide acoustically sound, high performance workplaces to federal employees.

Signature Solution: Cerami set the acoustical criteria to address background noise levels – Sound Transmission Class, Impact Insulation Class, Reverberation Time, and Speech Privacy Potential. Cerami also reviewed the need for a background sound masking system, interior finishes in special function areas such as conference rooms and lobby space and mechanical systems for noise control requirements. These recommendations addressed architectural shapes and the extent and type of sound absorptive finishes necessary.

As part of the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Design Excellence Program, the Charles R. Jonas Federal Courthouse has undergone major upgrades and replacement of its building systems. In addition to the rehabilitation of its existing buildings, the project also includes the addition of a new eight-story annex, approximately 198,000 square feet. The renovated facility provides space for the United States Circuit, District and Magistrate Courts, United States Marshals Service, United States Probation Office, Federal Public Defender, United States Attorney’s Office, and GSA’s Public Buildings Service.

Originally built in 1915, the historic courthouse requires delicate consideration to preserve its features. Cerami is working closely with the design team to ensure effective acoustical and audiovisual solutions while meeting the complex requirements of the courthouse.

Signature Solution: Maintaining historical finishes while designing for intelligibility was very challenging. Through careful evaluation, our acoustical solution addressed structure-borne noise and vibration control for mechanical and electrical equipment. Construction and connections between floor slabs, ceilings, and walls, doors, and frames were also designed to provide the optimal isolation and reverberation control.

Design strictly followed GSA PBS-P100, USMS Pub 64, and US Courts Design Guide specifications for equipment, equipment product cut sheets, and configuring AV systems.