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Architects: Roth Sheppard Architects
- Year: 2010
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Photographs:Roth Sheppard Architects
Text description provided by the architects. The Windsor Police Department is a facility located within a small community of just 20,000 people. The new building by Roth Sheppard Architects satisfies the community’s needs for a new police station, and optimizes the space, taking advantage of available context to be an even broader asset to the local community.
The police department had previously been located in the basement of Windsor’s Town Hall. Unfortunately, the original, though cramped, quarters were destroyed when a tornado touched down in Windsor and devastated the historic building. To take advantage of a somber situation, Roth Sheppard Architects was commissioned to design a freestanding building to be the new headquarters of the police department.
The new site was proposed by Roth Sheppard Architects to encourage the formation of a future civic campus for the small town, and visually establish the police department’s presence in town. The Windsor Police Department shares a site, vehicular entry, parking and meeting room space with the Community Recreation Center. Roth Sheppard Architects chose this placement to take advantage of its central location, as well as existing amenities.
The new building is clearly visible from Main Street and near the commercial and residential center of Windsor. It is composed of two sloped metal structures that contain separate programs within the police department. A pre-engineered metal building is the location of “nonessential” storage and support, while the “essential” operations and offices are held within a metal building with an eye-catching transparent lobby and masonry base.
At the intersection of the two metal buildings is the circulation center of the police department. From there, all areas of both buildings can be accessed, and the widened corridor functions as a meeting space as well.
The contemporary building by Roth Sheppard Architects is prominently located and considers the town’s future needs in its placement and design. The Windor Police Department is a new icon and a new beginning for the small rural town in Colorado.
