Westminster is a community of approximately 120,000 people that has become a national leader in carefully planned growth and quality of life issues. Commissioned to solidify the completion of the existing civic core, the design promotes architecture as a visual communicator of the processes and values of democracy while also making city government more accessible. At the largest scale, the 74,000 sq. ft. building completes the notion of a formal civic place, forming an axial relationship to the City Hall's 200-foot-tall campanile. The two buildings visually collaborate to suggest permanence, solidarity, and confidence; excellent lessons in democracy and government as a public resource.
Upon approach the building’s internal functions are revealed via a double-height lobby in full view of the adjacent civic court and campanile. Beyond the lobby, the building is structured around a double-height, sky lit courtyard which offers security to employees.
The architecture seeks to provide a quiet, humane environment within which an often stress-filled mission is accomplished. Providing the users with a sense of respite as a counter balance to the rigors of their daily activities was an articulated desire of the design process.
Leading the conceptual design, HPA infused this project with a desire to not only create a space that was responsive to the needs of the users but also a space that positively impacted the user’s emotional sovereignty while at work.
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