The site for the new Besson Street Police Station is located on the fringe of downtown Port of Spain. The building serves as an opportunity to improve the quality of the surrounding areas, given the authority and importance of institution that the station represents.
Our approach to the design of the Police Station originated from a purely functional and practical perspective on a constrained site. The challenge in the design process was to allocate such an extensive and controlled program of spaces on a narrow site in a three storey building. We first sought to identify the main entry points to the building. The corner condition allowed for the definition of the main entry points, having the pedestrian entrance on Besson St. apart from the vehicular and private entrance on Piccadilly St.
The main pedestrian entrance on Piccadilly St. emphasized by a light canopy directs the public to a double height space, where the reception desks and waiting area are located. The rest of the building has semi-public areas and fully restricted areas, typical for a building this nature.
The facades where treated with the blue and gray ACPs (Aluminium Composite Panels), characteristic of the police stations throughout the country, reinforcing the institutional image that makes it easy to recognize to the general public.