Tag Archives: Police technology

Architects Design Group Exhibiting at Florida Police Chiefs Association Conference

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For the 16th year in a row, Architects Design Group will be exhibiting at the Annual Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) Summer Conference which will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. This is the 60th anniversary of the FPCA Summer Conference and the association anticipates more than 250 agency heads will attend this training conference and exposition.

Architects Design Group specializes in the design of Police stations and is committed to enhancing the Law Enforcement community’s ability to provide first class facilities to its citizens. We continually lecture, exhibit and sponsor events at conferences such as FPCA to ensure we remain on the cutting edge of emerging trends, technology and standards.

Come visit us at Booth #36 July 8th through the 10th at the Marriott Resort and Spa to learn more about the services we offer including spatial needs assessments, master planning, site selection, design, construction administration, and grant assistance.

SUNRISE PUBLIC SAFETY COMPLEX NEAR COMPLETION

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The 132,000 SF, five-story City of Sunrise Public Safety Complex is nearing completion. National police architects, Architects Design Group, and the design team, performed multiple punch walkthroughs to assist the Construction Manager to close out all remaining construction issue to the satisfaction of the City and the users. The project achieved substantial completion on February 14, 2011.

The facility includes a tactical 8-lane Firing Range; and the installation has been completed and the shooting range is open for training to the Police force. Also included in this state-of-the-art facility is the 911 Communications Center, which is currently being furnished with specialty work stations and equipment that will serve as the Joint-use Broward County/City of Sunrise 911 Public Safety Answering Point.

One of the most important components of the Public Safety Complex is the Central Energy Plant that provides 100% redundancy to all critical infrastructure components. The plant accommodates two emergency generators and a fuel tank with a minimum of 72-hour capacity at full load. The chiller plant, located within this hurricane protected structure, is fully operational and is currently providing air conditioning to the entire complex.

The two-story, 18,000 SF, Fire Station #72 is 90% completed. The major components and equipment in this building have been installed. The specialty millwork installation is on-going and finishes are almost completed.

The final completion of the complex is scheduled for the end of March 2011 and Stiles Construction, the Construction Manager, is diligently working to achieve the deadline with the best quality of work and materials selected for the project.

Architects Design Group would like to thank the City of Sunrise for having afforded us with their trust to design and oversee the construction of this $32.5 million dollar state-of-the-art Public Safety complex.

We would also like to recognize the expertise of our design team:

  • TLC Engineering for Architecture (MEP, Security and Technology)
  • TRC Worldwide Engineering (Structural)
  • Architecture Dynamics (Associate Architects for Fire Station #72)
  • Urban Resource Group, a division of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Landscape Architects)
  • Sun-Tech Engineering (Civil)

Public Safety Facilities – Providing for New and Updated Facilities

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The operational needs of public safety entities, including law enforcement, fire & emergency medical services, emergency management and emergency communications, require secure, survivable, technologically advanced facilities from which staff can operate.  Operations must be continuous, both in typical times and in times of emergency situations.  The structures that these operations are housed in require what is known as a “survivable” building envelope, which can withstand both natural and man-made catastrophic events.

The exterior roof and wall components of the building, including windows, doors, canopies, roof membrane, lighting, air intake and exhaust vents, etc. must all be able to withstand external forces, such as high winds and impacts associated with storms and explosive blasts.  These structures also need to be located on sites which allow for both secure and non-secure points of access, as well as provide for limited secure buffer zones (known as “stand-off distance” zones).

In addition, there are specialized spaces associated with these operations that require specialized systems, such as security, communications, audio/visual, specialized fire protection, HVAC, and electrical systems, as well as redundant back-up capacity for all of these components to function when primary sources of power, data, heating and cooling are not functioning.  These systems must conform to current code requirements.

When cities, counties, state and federal entities consider their on-going need to update their public safety facilities, they must consider the cost impact of the above requirements. While it is possible to update existing facilities to incorporate these systems and strengthen the exterior building envelope, it is, in most cases, more cost effective to provide for a new facility which incorporates current and, if possible, future systems and space capacity for on-going operations.

New building material technologies, especially for glazing, roofing and coatings are being developed for stronger and more durable building performance.  Technologies continue to evolve for communications & data systems.  Audio/visual systems used for training of personnel have also changed in recent years.  These same systems now allow for a much broader means of connectivity among the public safety / emergency management community and the community at large. All of these improved materials and systems are more easily incorporated into new facilities which allow adequate space and adjacencies for maximizing performance.