MINNEAPOLIS FIFTH PRECINCT

The building reconciles the requirement of a safe, secure workplace for the police with the community’s desire for openness in their neighborhood. The publicly accessible zone along a busy street includes a landscaped green and a transparent community room and plaza; while police operations, housed in stainless steel and brick volumes, are wrapped in an additional surface of brick enclosing a light-well and the outdoor mechanical court. Bullet resistant glazing encloses the precinct’s less sensitive operational areas to reveal police activity and lend a sense of safety to passersby. The raised public plaza design is defensively designed to discourage automobiles from driving into the building.