Celebrate Peace Officers Memorial Day with Architizer’s Top Police Stations

From the tiniest town to the densest metropolis, the police station is a mainstay of the urban landscape. Unlike courts or city government, which aren’t usually far from the station house, the professional police force is a relatively recent invention. Modern policing began in the mid-19th century, and police facilities — important interfaces between the public and law enforcement— have been freer to adopt whatever architectural language best suited the moment: Neoclassical, Romanesque, Art Deco, modernist, or even nondescript vernacular. They are almost always somber and formal, but what if they could be playful and bold? Even homey and intimate?

On the occasion of Peace Officers Memorial Day, we’ve collected some of Architizer’s most recent projects to explore the current state of this evolving typology.

Police Headquarters and Charleroi Danses Extension by MDW ARCHITECTURE and Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Charleroi, Belgium

This police station takes the form of a multistory dark blue tower — its color a reference to the hue of police uniforms, its height a signal to the community that law enforcement is always available. Under the brick-clad tower is parking, detention center, and archives, and the surrounding red-brick buildings — old cavalry barracks — were also converted into police offices. The public plaza is accompanied by some usual program in nearby renovated and newly built structures, which is home to a brasserie and dance center.

Police Headquarters by Matos-Castillo Arquitectos, Logroño, Spain

This police station began with a simple concept: an opaque base and a large translucent volume above it. The end result is austere — a metal fence surrounds a rigorously formal exterior of translucent glass and aluminum shading devices. While this project is serious and stern, the next is far more playful.

Mestia Police Station by J. MAYER H., Mestia, Georgia

Jürgen Mayer’s practice lends its signature thick, curving sculptural forms to this police station in a Georgian town. The tower typology reappears, asserting its prominence on the urban landscape, though in this case referencing the region’s medieval stone towers. This structure is clad in prefabricated concrete with large glazed openings, which, according to the architect, offer transparency.

NYPD 121st Precinct by Rafael Vinoly Architects and Feinknopf, New York, N.Y.

Not all dramatic gestures need be vertical. This police station in Staten Island, N.Y., cantilevers toward a large commercial avenue, visually linking it to the urban fabric while literally and figuratively reaching out to the community. The two-story cantilever is clad in stainless steel while a nearby building, also part of the station, is gray brick.

Central Park Police Precinct by Fred Basch Architect PLLC, New York, New York

Also in New York, this project grappled with the challenges of preservation. A historic station house, located adjacent to one of the busy vehicular roads crossing Central Park, required expansion and improved basic infrastructure. Over the course of a 10-stage plan that allowed the station to remain in use, features such as the transformation of a courtyard into an interior lobby are highly prominent, while equally important updates to the sewer, water, and electrical systems remain largely invisible.

Police Office Schotenby Bovenbouw Architecture, As, Belgium

The architects designed this project with informality and approachability in mind. Concrete cinderblocks and exposed wood give an unfinished appearance that precludes an imperious or formal atmosphere. The building is L-shaped, pushing back from the street to create new public space. Lastly, the building is open and airy thanks to a triple-height space that begins in the public entrance atrium and runs through the staff cafeteria and most of the station itself.