Bayside Police Station Building, Sandringham Architecture, Australian Architect

Bayside Police Station, Melbourne

Building in Sandringham – design by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)

4 May 2011

Bayside Police Station

Location: Sandringham, Victoria, Australia

2011

Architect: Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt), Australia

Photos: John Gollings

Bayside Police Station in Sandringham

Architects Statement

We have sought to escape the existing architectural paradigms of the contemporary police station, characterised as they are by opacity, security and fenced compounds. Instead, an emphasis is placed upon the police station as a truly public community building: inviting, accessible and part of the civic fabric of the neighbourhood. However, the same strict technical and, in particular, security requirements must be achieved to create a safe working environment, all within the very tight cost constraints for this typology. Our intention is to reinforce the Victoria Police’s vision of a more open and interactive approach to contemporary policing.

The more public elements of the station are composed within an overarching formal frame, addressing the primary street and lifting the scale of the building to the adjacent Masonic Hall. This profiled concrete frame is like an abstraction of a portico, enlarging the entrance and sense of invitation while positioning the public meeting and control rooms in a tight composition and opening them to natural light from above.

The work spaces, meeting rooms, sally port, holding rooms and gymnasium within the station are gathered around a central top-lit atrium, lined with timber. The atrium is the central circulation spine, a place for informal meetings and special events with a stage created by the switchback stair, but also an honorific space of contemplation to the nature of community policing. Within this top-lit space is an integrated exhibition/artwork displaying the historical progression of the local police from the turn of the twentieth century through to the present time.

An emphasis has been placed upon the expressive and tectonic development of natural materials within the primary public spaces of the station. Terracotta tiles and curved Victorian Ash panels framed within profiled off-form concrete characterise the street address, while the atrium is lined with Victorian Ash panels and lit from above, with light reflected around curved cloud-like baffles. The perimeter of the main station volume is a layered system of glass operable panels, a captured linear landscaped garden, and a wall of continuous metal louvre grilles which provide environmental mediation and security.

Richard Francis-Jones Design Director Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp

Bayside Police Station – Building Information

Title: Bayside Police Station, Victoria Police

Project Address:
26-31 Abbott Street, Sandringham VIC 3191

Built area
Square meter built: Total 4,200 m2
Square meter landscape: 920 m2

Timeframe
Commencement: Jan 2008
Completion: Apr 2010

Client: Victoria Police
Architect: Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)
Landscape Architect: Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)
Contractor: St Hilliers Contracting
Project Manager: Coffey Projects

Consultants:
Structural and Civil Engineer (including stormwater): TAYLOR THOMSON WHITTING
Mechanical, Electrical, Lighting, Communication, Security, Hydraulic, Fire and Vertical Transportation: BRT CONSULTING
Acoustic Engineer: WATSON MOSS GROWCOTT ASSOCIATES
Relevant Building Surveyor: PLP BUILDING SURVEYORS
Quantity Surveyor: TURNER & TOWNSEND CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
Access: MORRIS GODING ACCESSIBILITY CONSULTING
Environmental Consultant: IRWIN CONSULT
Traffic: ARUP
Town Planning: DAVIS LANGDON
Geotechnical Engineer: DOUGLAS PARTNERS
Photographer: JOHN GOLLINGS

Bayside Police Station images / information from Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt)

Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp – FJMT

WAF Awards 2011 – Shortlisted in Civic and Community Category

Location: Sandringham, Victoria, Australia

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia