April 6, 2020 (OMAHA, NE) Altus Architectural Studios, Inc., an Omaha-based architectural and design firm, was awarded a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Little Rock District Task Order to deliver Architectural Design & Engineering services for Alternate Care Sites (ACS) in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

An Alternate Care Site (ACS) is a facility that’s temporarily converted for healthcare use during a public health emergency to reduce the burden on hospitals and established medical facilities.

At the request of FEMA and the State of Arkansas, the Corps’ teams set out to evaluate facilities within its military construction boundary area, which encompasses the entire state. A subsequent call for architectural and engineering design firms with experience in build-out or retrofit of existing space into alternate care space (arenas, convention centers, dorms, hotels, etc.) was made.

Altus Managing Principal, Mike Hamilton said, “We responded to the request from USACE Little Rock to submit a statement of our capabilities on Thursday last week and received the executed Task Order Late on Thursday.” The Altus team worked through the weekend to provide the concepts needed to convert the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Ark. to accommodate 700 COVID-19 beds (10 of which are allocated for critical care patients). At the JQ Hammons Center in Rogers, Ark., the proposed conversion concept provides space for an additional 408 beds (10 critical care).

Altus has teamed with another Omaha-based firm, Specialized Engineering Solutions (SES) to coordinate architectural concepts with mechanical, electrical and plumbing requirements for the USACE Little Rock ACS project. Overall, USACE has received six FEMA Mission Assignments totaling approximately $361 million, and USACE has 15,000 personnel engaged in the response effort and providing support during the COVID-19 crisis.

About Altus

Altus Architectural Studios, Inc. is a small business with offices in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado. The firm is dedicated to serving the architectural planning and design needs of both federal and private entities and projects of any size or level of complexity. Altus specializes in healthcare architecture, planning and design with more than 90 percent of its project portfolio in the healthcare industry. For more information, visit www.altusstudios.com