Dewberry Awarded for NYC’s Climate Resiliency Guidelines

Washington, D.C. — Dewberry of New York City earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 52nd annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for development and testing of New York City’s new climate resiliency design guidelines.

The guidelines provide a systematic approach for architects and engineers to incorporate forward-looking climate data into their designs. Developed around four key climate stressors — extreme heat, precipitation, sea level rise, and coastal storm surge — the interventions’ success at mitigating effects of climate change were tested at ten sites representing various typologies within the City’s five boroughs.

Use of climate-resilient design is far more cost-effective than retrofitting resiliency features into existing infrastructure. Along with helping safeguard New York’s critical built environment, the design guidelines serve as a model that other cities can adapt to address their specific needs and climate-related threats.

The project team also included SCAPE Landscape Architecture of New York City, and D&B Engineers and Architects of Woodbury, N.Y.

The project is among 196 engineering achievements from throughout the nation and the world being recognized by ACEC as the year’s finest examples of engineering excellence, and eligible for additional top national honors. Judging for the awards program — known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry” — took place in February, conducted by a national 30-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focuses on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all award winners including top commendations — 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, May 7, 2019, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.