St. Mary’s County Sheriff Station
The St. Mary’s County District 4 Sheriff station is an adaptive reuse of an existing 5,300 SF former EMS station in Lexington Park, Maryland. The St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Department in concert with the Department of Public Works approached the design team with the task to redefine how a traditional police station looks and interacts with the community. Understanding the role of community policing, the design team sought to provide the maximum amount of transparency into the station to promote a more welcoming and less intimidating presence, all without compromising personnel safety and operational functionality. Large spanning clerestory element and punched openings flood the interior with natural daylight throughout the administrative and lobby spaces below, along with defining the public entrance to provide both a welcoming and intuitive approach.
The back of the house provides secure spaces for both suspect processing, and detainment, along with evidence processing and storage. The station boasts an energy-efficient mechanical system, LED lighting package, natural gas-run generator, and all elements designed to provide stabilized climate control while reducing energy consumption and monthly operating cost. Evidence processing is equipped with a dedicated ventilation system to eliminate odors from propagating throughout the station. All glass exposing personnel to risk is protected with UL level 5 ballistic resistant glazing. The exterior is protected from vehicular assault with planters and crash-rated bollards. All elements coupled together produce a building that will provide the Sheriff’s Department a space to adapt and serve the community for years to come.
