The Vaals Police
Station is based on a reflection on the relationship between architecture and
landscape, a trait common to a number of other works, and yet particularly
central in the design of this building. The role of the landscape is present
not only in the relationship between the building and the site topography, but
also in the articulation presence of the ramps and other elements of mobility
and access, and the construction of the visual directions as well. The police
station seems therefore to be primarily structured according to a sequence of
movements and views.
The design
consciously stresses the ethereal character of the unit, discouraging the gap
created between police officers and the public, and also bringing different
materials side by side in complete harmony. The construction of the whole from
the three connecting ‘boxes’ is meant to strengthen the lightness of the
building. The public pedestrian path that traverses the entire length of the
complex leads passers-by out of the city but not without first drawing them
closer to the kennels, the prison block, the reception and the entrance.
Each of the three
boxes that form the complex whole is constructed out of different materials:
zinc, wood and concrete. The public path is linked to the zinc volume that
houses the detention cells, the interrogation rooms and the police cap display
room. The wooden structure not only links the two other structures together
into a complex whole but also houses the administrative and technical spaces.
The concrete volume is designed to house the work and meeting areas of the
police.
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