This facility brings together three important City of Bloomfield functions under one roof and offers City employees and the public improved accessibility, as well as an economic use of City funding. The police department headquarters, municipal courthouse and motor vehicles department each need to operate separately of and secured from each other. But for ease of functionality and security for both public and private users, these services need to be accessible to one another.

Security was a major concern in this facility’s planning – the architectural solution establishes a balance between the City’s need to address security concerns and City’s the desire for public accessibility and sufficient day lighting and views. This is done through carefully controlled circulation with the help of key card access. Also making this possible is invisible, bullet-resistant barriers and glazing between public and secure zones.

The second and third stories, which house the police department’s training and administrative spaces, allow the facility to have a tower that acts as a public service beacon visible throughout much of the City and beyond. Weathered steel cladding recalls Bloomfield’s history as a mining community and adjacent pre-cast concrete wall panels mimic their pattern while providing a striking contrast in materials – both steel and concrete give an impression of strength and permanence. These rich materials mirror the dynamic colors of the surrounding four-corners region landscape. These design attributes are reflective of a point of view that building materials inevitably will age, but they can do so gracefully and in concert with their surroundings.