November 6th, 2014 | 8:00am – 9:15am | Enzo Vicenzino
ABSTRACT
Justice and injustice issues inspire social debates. Social justice is built around principles that challenge justice and value diversity. It relates to issues of dignity; political, economic and social equality. “Spatial justice, most simply, is the intersection of space and social justice” -Lefebre, Henri. Le Droit à la ville. 1968. The design team at Stantec Architecture took these principles to heart when designing the Calgary Police Service’s (CPS) Westwinds Campus.
This case study demonstrates the alignment of a progressive law enforcement campus with the Service’s goals for community policing, optimizing operational efficiencies and fostering a strong workplace community. It focuses on how the holistic design of the campus achieves these elements of social justice. The campus provides for spatial justice by its impact on education, wellness, empowerment and cultural identity.
Calgary Police Service’s Westwinds Campus by Stantec Architecture
DISCUSSION
What are the principles of social justice that were significantly consider for the design of Calgary Police Service’s Westwinds Campus?
What are the design concept/strategies that optimize operational efficiencies and foster strong workplace community at Calgary Police Service’s Westwinds Campus?
What are the concept/strategies toward sustainable design for the design of Calgary Police Service’s Westwinds Campus?
The following responds to the questions about principles of social justice used in the design of the Calgary Police Service’s Westwinds Campus and the major design concepts and strategies to create a sustainable campus while optimizing efficiencies and creating a strong workplace.
Justice and injustice issues have always inspired social debates. Social justice is built around principles that challenge justice and value diversity. It relates to issues of dignity; political, economic and social equality. “Spatial justice, most simply, is the intersection of space and social justice” -Lefebre, Henri, Le Droit à la ville, 1968. This case study will demonstrate the alignment of a progressive law enforcement campus with the service’s goals for community policing, optimizing operational efficiencies and fostering a strong workplace community. The presentation will focus on how these elements of social justice are achieved through the holistic design of the campus.
In 2008, Nortel’s Westwinds Business Campus in the Northeast quadrant came up for sale. The 23.8-hectare site included a high-tech office building and an industrial facility with a two-storey office component combined with abundant surface parking. Stantec and CPS took this opportunity to create a visionary campus that would not only serve immediate needs but also allow for sustainable growth. The re-development of an existing site offered reduced capital costs, helped reduce the burden on tax payers and aligned with the City’s sustainability policy.
The Calgary Police Service’s core values include community policing through a strategy of crime prevention and education. Together the CPS and Stantec Architecture Ltd. integrated this core principle into the new CPS Westwind’s Headquaters. Law Enforcement methods are constantly evolving throughout North America. There is increased reliance on citizen volunteers, substantial efforts to collaborate with the community and other law enforcement agencies and concerns of employee attraction and retention. Our design of the Westwinds Campus embraces these opportunities and provides a modern flexible environment that is supportive of community policing and aligns with CPS’s reputation of a progressive law enforcement organization.
The campus is located in the Northeast quadrant of the City, which is a community of mixed diversity, often where new immigrants first settle when arriving to Calgary. This location aligns with CPS’s mandate “To preserve the quality of life in our community by maintaining Calgary as a safe place to live, work and visit in concert with other agencies and the citizens of Calgary.” The design of the master plan ensured that public use of the campus remained open to the surrounding community through the use of gardens and walking paths.
CPS’s primary strategic goal is to “Strengthen Community Policing.” The existing pond in the campus was developed as a community Art Walk, with the surrounding communities encouraged to claim a space and display their heritage. The Art Walk represents CPS’s mandate to create a welcoming and open law enforcement presence while encouraging a celebration of diverse ethnicities.
The facilities on the Campus also support the same philosophy. The program for the Headquarters was developed by empowering the participants with a ‘Facilities Workplace Survey’ and converted their requirements into a strategic plan. The design of the Headquarters required extensive planning and expansion in the existing warehouse area. A new internal street with a large skylight meets the goal of providing right to light to the employees and maintaining the design integrity of the campus. The major internal streets in the headquarters are key design elements for wayfinding in the facility, and they also set up security divisions between public, secure components and semi-secure areas of the building. Collaborating spaces for public, civilian and sworn staff were created along the street to encourage employee social interaction and support health and wellness. Tied to the streets were programs such as the cafeteria, bank, chapel, fitness rooms, gymnasiums(with public access) and a health and wellness center that created a socially conscious design which originates at the large and welcoming lobby. Openness and transparency is created with spatial organization and glazing. The Office of the Chief is located on the second floor and is visible from the main lobby further supporting CPS’s goals of transparency and accountability within the community.
The Youthlink Interpretive Centre, an annex attached to the headquarters, is a crime prevention and education initiative. The Centre delivers content and programming to encourage youth to confront issues, make positive life choices and become model citizens. The main exhibits focus on current and trending issues that youth face, such as, online safety, bullying, drugs, gangs and healthy relationships. The design of the facility has a dual purpose on reaching out to youth, while at the same time presenting the proud history of the police to its members and the public.
The secure investigative building is developed around a central atrium. The fundamental concepts that guided us during design included: achieving functional requirements, creating flexible and versatile spaces, and providing a safe and secure environment for users. Provisions of a café, fitness room and refresh stations encourage health and well-being of staff.
The organization of this high performance site maximizes efficiencies, fosters communication, caters to the users’ needs and provides for spatial justice by its impact on education, health, empowerment and cultural identity.
November 4th, 2014