Seaside Community
Scituate Public Safety
Scituate, MA
“D+W did a great job through all phases of the project. Team members were incredibly responsive to questions and needs. They had a great vision in terms of the project and worked collaboratively with all stakeholders in the town to ensure that the project was a success.”
Mark Thompson, Chief of Scituate Police
Combining Police And Fire
The existing Scituate Police Station was built in 1959. It no longer functioned due to deficiencies like inadequate workspaces, security for personnel and records, confidential interview rooms, decontamination area, safe prisoner control, and proper healthy ventilation. Fire Station No. 4, also built in 1959, was little more than an oversized garage with poor heating and ventilations systems and lacking proper work and living space.
Multiple Sites Studied
The design team studied many sites throughout town to locate the joint operations facility. Response time analysis was conducted, and it was critical to be located on a major roadway where access would be maintained during storms. The new public safety complex features joint dispatch, appropriate separation of public and secured areas, and space for expansion. And for the first time the town has a designated Emergency Operations Center within its public safety facility.
Coastal Imagery
Proper scale and proportions were important since Scituate consists of primarily residential structures. The building design reflects the seaside character of Scituate by appearing to attach a series of pitched roof buildings with shingle and clapboard siding. Constructed on part of what is known as the Ellis Estate, the new site features artful landscaping and vegetation around a new raingarden and two gravel wetlands that form the site’s creative stormwater management system.
