These are the words in the 1990 annual report of the Barrie Police Service. In the months and years prior the doors opening of the new Barrie Police Headquarters on February 1993, many employees believed that a new facility would never be a reality. In fact it was more than a decade prior to opening day when the Ontario Police Commission expressed initial concern over the inadequate working space of the Barrie police staff. They had to share their cramp quarters with the fire department located at a marginal area.

This appears to be the typical scenario of most police departments who have gone through the process of realizing a new facility, which is:

· Years of adapting to cramp and dysfunctional space

· Police Service Board accepts need for space

· Feasibility Study defines the specific police user space requirements, site area and project cost

· Council approves of the report recommendations

· City staff implement the recommendations by setting up committee(s) to:

-Evaluate alternative sites followed with a site selection and purchase

-Select an architect to provide the design services

-Tender and award project construction to a general contractor

-Monitor/administer the construction process

-Select/purchase furniture and arrange for moving to new facility

· Opening Day!

Anywhere along this way, the Dream to Reality link could have been broken. It took the dedicated will of the Police and the Community to make this dream a reality.

The Need

Barrie Police service/staff size is generated by population demands.

There is tremendous population growth in Barrie. The original number of 60,000 in 1989 has swelled to 90,000 within 10 years. This growth was projected for over a 20 year period. A cause is the thrust of people who work in the Greater Toronto Area and have moved to Barrie to reside. (one hour commute) There is significant growth of Industrial and commercial development around the major vehicular corridor of Highway 400. Further, Barrie is at the crossroads where summer and winter vacationers pass by on route to recreational areas to the north. They stop for food and gas at Barrie.

Map of Barrie

The Site

It was decided that the new site should be located where this emerging and future development is locating in the outskirts of the downtown area.

Vehicular access from this site to Highway 400 and main local streets was an important consideration.

In this context, the Barrie police staff had to provide service not only for pressing current demands but also for significant future needs.

The new police facility on Sperling Drive addresses these needs as follows.

Community Based Policing

At the conception time in 1989, there were the beginnings of Community Based Policing: a partnership between the Police and the Community. Police Chief Delcourt articulated this in the 1990 Mission Statement for this new headquarters:

The mission of the Barrie Police Service is to work with the public to make our community safe. We believe that our new headquarters will serve as evidence of our commitment to this partnership.

This attitude had to manifest itself physically in the new police facility through a positive police-community presence. By conceiving this facility as a civic building from the Macro and Micro context this presence was expressed.

The Exterior Presence

The building has two main vantages from:

1. The Highway side

2. The Entrance side

1. The Highway Side

The site is adjacent to Highway 400 just north of the Highway 27 Exit.

It was important for the building to have an identity from Highway 400. This was achieved by having the 3rd floor mechanical penthouse positioned diagonally to this highway.

A large sign of the Barrie police symbol was placed on each of the angled walls facing the highway. Motorist in both directions can see these backlite signs at a distance during the day and night.

There was also the strong visual impression of the horizontal asphalt highway and the overhead bridge forms.

The horizontal precast concrete and brick bands of the three building levels and the second level precast concrete overhang projection above the lounge/lunch room integrated the horizontality of the building and highway forms.

Photo of building from highway side

2. The Entrance Side

As one approaches, the building is identified by the main public spaces which where pulled forward as close as possible to the street. These architectural elements were aligned on axis with the north access route of Sperling Drive and terminated the vista.

Specifically, these two public pavilions are the Meeting Room and the Community Services office, which flank the open forecourt of the entrance. This forecourt allowed people to gather or sit at the sheltered exterior benches.

Within the central reception area is the front counter all opened to natural light of the skylight. This glazed atrium is visually connected with the second floor reception area of the Police chief’s office. Views to the lobby from this level are afforded.

In front of the building was a loop road that accommodated the drop off at the entrance and visitor parking area.

Particular concern was given to the physically challenged persons with dedicated disabled parking spaces, walkways, sloped curbs, close to the automatic button access to the main doors, and a wheel chair accessible water fountain within the reception area.

Site Plan here:

Part of the Community Based Police concept was that the police facility had to feel like it was part of the community.

We looked at Barrie’s main street character. The selected architectural elements such as park pavilion (band shell), sloping roofs, porches, warm accent brick bands were composed at the public area that gave the feeling of warmth and welcome.

Although inviting, the entrance is protected against a potential frontal vehicular assault by the use of the concrete base of the sign box.

Photo of front entrance area

The Interior Presence

The Public

The programme requirements called for an integration of community and police functions. The spatial relationship of this facility had to accommodate the graceful reception of the public, the direct circulation to the Community Service Office, the accommodation of children finger printing, or to one on one private meeting on personal matters. If there where a large assembly of people for a civic function, directly off the entrance was a need for a foyer, a meeting hall, with related kitchen and washrooms.

These functions had to be done without interfering with the police operations.

These functional requirements were accommodated in the plan below.

Plan of public area:

The Police:

In the past, many police buildings were not planned with due consideration for the front line officer. Their entrance was tucked away in the back corner of the building with a tight vestibule.

We wanted to change this.

At the Barrie Police Headquarter, the staff entrance was opened to natural light from a skylighted walkway with glazed corridor to the operational area. The lunch/lounge area was given a panoramic view of the Highway 400 with a trellised sheltered patio for outdoor eating and smoking. There are also men and women saunas.

The police are involved in a stressful vocation. All these features assisted in relieving them of stress so that they can be more effective in their work.

Photo of skyighted corridor

Photo of lounge-lunch room-patio

Barrie is in the snow belt zone.

A sheltered parking area was designed for police vehicles, that could be used immediately for emergency situations without delays from snow removal.

Photo of sheltered parking

The Suspect:

An important matter was the processing of suspects. The suspects’ entrance was located away from the main public entrance but close to the police operational area.

For the security area, features that facilitated the suspect processing included:

· Control Console of station duty officer for door access, monitoring whole sequence of suspect processing as well as cell activity,

· Drive-Through Sally Port allowing the moving of vehicles efficiently and safely forward,

· Close proximity of the security area to the duty officer at the front desk for mandatory cell checks,

· Close proximity of the security area to the Investigative Department for the interviewing suspects,

· Interview rooms and line up room within the security area,

· Terrazzo strip for the testing of sobriety,

· Emergency strips along the walls to get quick assistance anywhere within the secure area.

The Future

The new police headquarters was programmed to accommodate a future 212 staff strength in 2009. At the time of the needs assessment study, the staff was 115. Thus there is the need for future expansion and flexibility of space.

Expansion

The central part of the foundations was lowered by 4 feet. This created a potential expansion space of 3000 sq.ft. at a minimal cost increase.

Secondly, the roof structure and foundations of the ground floor central records area was strengthened to accommodated a future second floor office area of 5,400 sq.ft.

Flexibility

Changes to operational areas and workstations had to be anticipated.

There is also the need to adapt to future increases in communication and power requirements and changes to their locations. This flexibility was particularly needed in the Investigation Department.

This need was accommodated by the

selection of Haworth Furntiure Company’s Race” modular furniture system. Electrical wiring from the ceiling was connected to vertical conduit poles linked to horizontal main-beam conduits and ports at work surface height around each workstation. This facilitated the changing of detective teams and their communication and power equipment arrangements.

Photo of furniture system:

The Communication Centre was also planned for two additional modular dispatch workstations from the present two. These stations are served by an underfloor wire management plenum. Rather than raise the floor to accept the wiring, the floor slab was lowered in order to maintain the same floor level.

Further, changes in staff and their offices required an interior signage system that was flexible too. The selected door signage system facilitated the change of personnel/titles and room names by

removable sign bands.

The above design strategies along with the increased floor area based on the projected 212 total staff should allow for the accommodation of the spatial needs beyond the year 2009.

Current Context

However other current factors, unknown then, could affect the satisfactory accommodations of the Barrie Police Service now.

Since opening day, Barrie’s population has already increased to 90,000 in year 1998, 10 years ahead of the estimated projection time.

Further, because of the provincial changes in legislation affecting policing of rural areas, there is the restructuring of Ontario and municipal police departments.

These factors may affect the Barrie Police Service and consequently impact upon the spatial/functional needs of the headquarters facility.

Feed Back

With the building being in operation for

5 years, we now have the opportunity of hind sight. Bearing in mind the above influences, we can now determine how this facility is functioning and what has changed or needs to be changed that has/would affected this facility now and in the future.

In any event, the Dream has been realized!

For this project, Nelson Wong Architect Inc. was the prime consultant providing full services in joint venture with a local firm1. For further information contact Nelson Wong at 416-657-1048.

1 Malcolm and Boyko Architects