Police Headquarters

[Just the facts]

I prefer the new police station in Edmond.

[Snowman]

There are more unflattering views than others. Its not going to win any awards but its still a pretty cool building. Hopefully it is big enough, OKC already has a shortage of cops & if we ever hire up to what our standards should be this could become a problem.

It is not like they even have all their downtown operations in that building, they have several offices and labs in adjacent or nearby blocks.

[Tigerguy]

hideous! and way too small for a major city's police hq. I just don't understand why OKC refuses to use glass in a modern way when it comes to government buildings. .....

Eh, when it comes to the police department, I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other on how the building looks. I just don't want to spend any significant amount of time there...

[Spartan]

Back ten years or so when we were debating remodel versus building new, I was big on a new headquarters.
Is it just me, or from this direction, does the new headquarters look like a complete renovation of the old?
Obviously, there are major differences, but generally I can see this facade remodeled from the old.

I dig it, I just wish the corner were more inviting.

[ljbab728]

A tour was conducted today for city council members.

Oklahoma City's new police headquarters is on target | NewsOK.com

[Mel]

Maybe part of the look is to make it look like a fortress. It is a Police Station and not a Museum. It might have to do with stronger infrastructure, blast resistant walls and the like. I am more of a function over form kind of guy.

[Plutonic Panda]

The building isn't as bad in person, but it's still not great or impressive like it could have been.

[Mel]

Do they make wraps for buildings? It would be a bit 2-D-ish but you could just hold a hand up over one eye when you drive by.

[Stickman]

Do they make wraps for buildings? It would be a bit 2-D-ish but you could just hold a hand up over one eye when you drive by.

Maybe they will plant Ivy and let it grow up the walls.

[Just the facts]

Walked by here the other day. If they took down the construction fence no one could tell which was the new building and which was the old. I didn't even know they made brick that ugly anymore. Anyhow, I guess they save a fortune by using the original proposed plans from the current building.

[Architect2010]

Well that was easily one of the most exaggerated comments I've read all day.

[edcrunk]

Dallas has a really cool police station.
I was originally underwhelmed by the OKC design, but I do like it in person.

[Spartan]

Walked by here the other day. If they took down the construction fence no one could tell which was the new building and which was the old. I didn't even know they made brick that ugly anymore. Anyhow, I guess they save a fortune by using the original proposed plans from the current building.

It's called contextual design. They did a fantastic job drawing from the 1940s era architecture surrounding it.

[Just the facts]

It's called contextual design. They did a fantastic job drawing from the 1940s era architecture surrounding it.

Well they nailed it then - but they should have aimed 10 years earlier. As part of the Civic District they should have copied the Art Deco motif of all the other civic buildings in the area. Anyhow, they didn't so I'll just chalk it up to another ball dropped (or maybe never even picked up in the first place).

BTW - that architecture they copied from, is going to be torn down as soon as the new building opens... so, so much for contextual design.

[Spartan]

Valid point about art deco versus mid century mod. The latter is just more in vogue right now.

[Rover]

Whichever they did it would be wrong.

[Mel]

More Gargoyles. Everything looks better with Gargoyles. Give it a real Gotham look.

[Pete]

From today:

[Pete]

The are planning to move in on Sept. 1:

[jccouger]

This building is way cooler than anybody here gives it credit for.

[Bellaboo]

This building is way cooler than anybody here gives it credit for.

I thought the exact same thing when I went by the other day.

[ChrisHayes]

The are planning to move in on Sept. 1:

Personally I love this view of the building.

[Stickman]

I keep viewing it from the SW side. Looks good from the North. I take back any negative comments I made about the curb appeal in earlier comments.

[Urbanized]

I too really like the building, which I think is super-easy on the eyes. The only real quibble I have with it is how unfriendly it is to Main Street, with no engagement of any type whatsoever (in fact the opposite of engagement) which creates a bit of a walkability barrier for an important and emerging neighborhood. That said, I understand the challenge that is dictated by its use and the inherent security requirements.

[soonerguru]

I don't think the purpose of this building is to "engage" with the street. It's pretty good considering.