2025 Award Winners and Nominees
Project Name
Bristol Public Safety Building
Description
The Bristol Public Safety Building not only functions as an emergency response center, but as a hub for community engagement, education and outreach. As such, the design needed to be able to accommodate the needs of police and fire/rescue in one building, sharing functions and common spaces to save on upfront and operating costs.
The site that Bristol chose, however, was a challenging one. The existing grade increased significantly from the road to the back of the site. As such, the building was designed to be built into the sloping hill with the second level walking out at grade in the back of the building. A 12” core ICF wall was used to hold back 12’ of backfill. With different sections of the building having varying amounts of backfill against them, use of ICF walls from footings to roofline eliminated potential issues that might occur with foundation to wood frame transition at grade.
This project started in the spring of 2023 and was completed the following year. As such, a significant amount of the project happened during a harsh New England winter. With the ICF complete by late summer and the building closed in by late fall, Groen was able to concentrate on the interior fit up of the building over the winter. Shortly after the roof framing was complete, the sprayfoam insulation was installed in the attic to hold in the heat. This super insulated shell saved thousands of dollars in temporary heat costs and made the building comfortable to work in for the trades.
With the numerous and large bay openings and the need for this to be a safe haven for emergency personnel, durability and resiliency of this building was paramount. Concrete and ICF construction provided the necessary structural integrity while easily accommodating the interior and exterior finishes that make this a welcoming addition to the community. Groen has worked alongside NRMCA member and ICF manufacturer, Nudura, for years with trainings and collaboratively hosting project walk-throughs to show construction and design professionals and building stakeholders what ICF builds look like throughout the process. The two companies have also done cross-promotional videos and marketing campaigns to spread awareness for the benefits of Insulated Concrete Forms.
Evidence
The pivotal role of this building is safety and security, so its use of concrete and ICFs integrates this mission to its core. The Bristol Public Safety Building also serves as another high-profile build that puts Insulated Concrete Form construction top of mind for similar community project.
Its inception came after the Bristol Fire Chief toured a public safety building that Groen built with Nudura ICFs for the town of Farmington, New Hampshire, which placed third in the ICF Builder Awards Light Commercial category in 2018. He was very impressed by the ICF construction and shortly after, contacted Groen about building a similar structure in Bristol. Ironically, the Bristol Public Safety Building would come to be the 1st place winner of the ICF Builder Award Light Commercial category and the recipient of the People’s Choice Award in 2025.
In addition to its durability, the use of ICFs will also help the community with its energy efficiency and cost savings. The Fire Chief anticipates a 40 to 50% energy savings annually on the new building, including heating and LED lighting costs, over what was spent for the old police and fire stations.
Images
