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Public Safety Facilities – Designing Survivable Infrastructure to Ensure Critical Community Service

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Now, more than ever, cities, counties and states throughout the country are recognizing the need for secure, survivable, and technologically advanced law enforcement, emergency management, fire and emergency medical services facilities. Many of these public facilities were built more than 50 years ago and are inadequate to remain fully functional after a natural or man-made disaster, or support modern day practices such as safekeeping of public records, security and training.

Critical to the mission of city, county, state and federal government is the protection of its citizens and the ability to continue public services 24 hours a day in both typical times and times of emergency. In order to do that, these governmental bodies require facilities that have the ability to protect the people, records and equipment contained within the building site and structures. This level or protection requires secure site perimeters of varying security levels, from public interface areas to highly secure, access controlled areas for staff operations. Also required is what is known as a “survivable” building envelope, which is a building that can withstand both natural and man-made catastrophic events and includes redundant water, sanitary and power systems.

Architects Design Group (ADG) understands how to plan, design, and construct “survivable” public safety facilities. Over the past 39 years, ADG has provided architectural design and systems coordination for facilities of this type, including the Sunrise Public Safety Facility currently under construction and the Monroe County Emergency Operations Center which is designed to survive the 10,000 Year Storm.

ADG Presents New Frankfort Public Safety Facility

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The Kentucky City/County Management Association held a joint conference with the Tennessee City Management Association in March in Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky. Park of the two state meeting included a segment on the new ADG designed Frankfort Public Safety Facility.

Mr. Keith Reeves, V, President of ADG, gave a detailed presentation to the City Managers that outlined the “process,” including the site selection procedure. Following the presentation, the City Managers toured the 35,650 square foot facility and met with the various entities that are accommodated in the new facility, including the Police Department, Fire Administration, 9-1-1 Communications and the Department of Emergency Management.

Reeves noted that the presentation and tour was an excellent way for the various City Managers to learn firsthand about the issues and realities of how to make a complex project become a reality, and how to respond to citizen’s questions regarding funding such a new facility during a “challenging” economic time.

The facility was competitively bid thru the Construction Manager (CM) at Risk process during a period when construction was at an all time high and values were changing on a weekly basis. The facility construction was completed in 2009 at a cost of approximately $9.8 million or at a value of $276 per square foot, including the demolition of the existing Police Department building that the new facility replaced.

LEEDing the Change in Architecture

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Change throughout the world, and the communities in which we live and work, continues to accelerate at an unprecedented rate.  The new technologies that improve the way we interact with each other and our environment have been a fundamental catalyst of this change. Our buildings need to respond accordingly. Architects Design Group (ADG) is committed to researching technology that benefits our understanding of building and environmental concerns, and using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building certification process is a method of recognizing responsive buildings through an understanding of how properly designed building envelopes (walls + roof), site design and environmental systems work together to optimize energy performance and improve operations. We also find an increasing demand to integrate technology into the building’s environmental systems (telecommunications + security). ADG has a tradition of embracing new developments in new technology in pursuit of an architecture that remains relevant into the foreseeable future.

Many ADG projects currently in design are being developed for LEED Certification, which incorporates many of the latest technologies including improved energy performance, water use reduction, recycled materials, and more. LEED recognizes that building performance must find a balance of efficiency and a healthy/humane workplace. ADG has adopted the pursuit of performance-oriented architecture as a philosophical under-pinning our professional practice.  “Lessons Learned” working on “green” projects like the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) are transferred to all current projects.  Our design work provides flexibility for technology integration and change; such that each project helps create a quality environment for the users and community.

Reeves becomes certified as a “Post-Disaster Facility Safety Assessor”

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Ian Reeves, AIA, Vice President of ADG, has recently completed the required training to become a registered Safety Assessment Evaluator which prepared him to help local governments across Florida, California and the nation with accurate evaluation of facilities, buildings, and infrastructures in the aftermath of a disastrous event.  The training and certification was administered through the Florida and Orlando Associations of the American Institute of Architects in partnership with California’s Office of Emergency Services (OES).

 

This program is only offered to licensed architects, registered engineers, or certified building officials and inspectors.  Reeves now joins a select group of some sixty plus certified assessors in the State of Florida.  All of these individuals are trained in the following categories: concepts of emergency operations; earthquake effects on structures; windstorm and flood effects; and explosion effects.  Each event is unique and brings with it its own set of complicated effects.  The assessor’s role is to evaluate the magnitude of these effects and translate that into the safety level of the structures in the area affected by the event.  A detailed evaluation process is utilized to identify those structures that may be occupied and those that are not safe for habitants.  All of the individuals that are involved with the SAP (safety assessment program) provide their services on a volunteer basis and are not compensated by the local government entity which they are serving.

Sunrise Public Safety Complex – Topping Off Event

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On Friday, February 19, the City of Sunrise, Florida celebrated the topping off of the new Public Safety Complex located in Sunrise. More than 120 people were in attendance including Architects Design Group, Stiles Construction, City of Sunrise elected officials, the City police and fire chiefs, and sub contractors. A “topping off” event occurs at the completion of the highest structural element on a building, in this case the roof top.  The roof and structure of the 92,000, five story, Public Safety Building was completed in early February and is composed of poured and pre-cast concrete structural elements.

 

The overall complex encompasses the Public Safety Building; a 15,000 square foot, single story Ancillary Building housing an 8 lane Firing Range and Law Enforcement Command Vehicle storage; and a two story, 18,000 square foot, 4 bay Fire Station.  The buildings provide all required functional areas for the 300 person staff.  This City facility is also housing critical infrastructure needs, including an Emergency Operations Center. 

 

The structures have been designed and are being constructed to provide for a secure, storm-hardened, state-of-the-art, technologically sophisticated center for Police and Fire Rescue Services.  Systems include 100% mechanical and electrical redundancy to all critical infrastructure components, ensuring that the facilities remain operational during and immediately after a natural disaster or man-made incident.

 

The project is scheduled to be completed in February 2011.