Engineered Systems - February 2009 - (Page 31) The new police training facility in Columbus, OH offered a variety of spaces, which you’d expect, and a slightly odd shape, which you might not. The situation warranted a custom piping and boiler configuration, and engineers produced an arresting design that fulfills its duty to tomorrow’s officers. BY JOHN VASTYAN P olice work, like military duty, is filled with uncertainty. Though there are few things they can take for granted, members of the force and officers in training in Columbus, OH, can rely on comfort systems installed in one of the newest and most contemporary police training facilities. It replaces a much smaller facility, built in 1964 and considered inadequate a decade later. The new $27 million, 166,000-sq-ft circular building opened two years ago for its first class of 67 recruits. It’s an architectural marvel, with many specialized functions that officials say were needed to prepare officers for an increasingly complex job. “There’s not another like it,” stated architect Patrick Allen. “This building is truly an expression of what the Columbus Police Division needed, and what its training is all about.’’ Police professionals and facility designers quickly recognized the facility as among the finest of its kind worldwide. The facility makes a gleaming forensics classroom plus well-appointed weight training and aerobic-conditioning rooms available to cadets and trainers alike. So unique is the building that it has already attracted police agencies from across the nation. According to Commander Larry Rod, this will generate revenues to help cover the costs of training the city’s officers. The building’s most distinct architectural feature, found immediately within the large, open lobby, is a glass-and-brick tower that permits natural light to stream into a Hall of Honor that memorializes officers killed in the line of duty. The buildingís circular design has a nearly 1-acre, open-air courtyard within its center that can be used for class formations, receptions, and graduation ceremonies. Other amenities include a gymnasium; an indoor pool for exercise, injury rehabilitation, and dive team training; fully-padded defensive tactics rooms; a 300-seat dining hall; a 300-seat auditorium; lecture hall; several classrooms; and a computer lab. Five-degree angle welds in the pipe were needed to complete the heating loop and accommodate the circular shape of the new police training facility in Columbus, OH. w w w. esmag a zine . c o m 31 http://www.esmagazine.com
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