LAPD Metropolitan Division Facility

A LEED® Platinum transformation of the 28,000SF bunker that formerly housed the LAPD Rampart Division, this $13.3M Metropolitan Division project for the City of Los Angeles celebrates a new era in sustainable civic design and sensitive law enforcement/community relations. The 1.74-acre site occupies a corner lot in a high density residential community northeast of downtown LA. Originally constructed in 1966, the site housed an existing two-story concrete building with attached parking deck, which had laid vacant for several years. Renovated, this 24/7 state-of-the-art law enforcement facility now houses the elite specialized Metropolitan Division—which includes S.W.A.T., Supplementary Crime Suppression platoons, K-9 Division, Dignitary Protection, and Armored Patrol. Program elements include a new secure perimeter, staff offices, conference rooms, specialty training facilities, auxiliary armory, equipment storage, kennels, protected parking and display areas throughout. Given the highly secure nature of their responsibilities, the facility, while visually open, is necessarily designed with controlled public access. Interventions renovate the original mid- century modern architecture with a fresh transparency to the community, while creating a dynamic, open collaborative workplace. Strategic carvings flood daylight into high priority spaces such as the “slot,” the central interconnecting circulation spine; interior planning maximizes work space efficiency and flexibility. A new entry sequence along Temple Street integrates a complete façade replacement to allow the building to glow as a beacon of neighborhood safety. Existing terra cotta tile was salvaged for reuse on the new site wall that defines both the relocated building entry and carries the facility’s new name. The new glazing’s custom frit is derived from this ceramic tile pattern, applied so as to create protective translucency and seamlessly accommodate ballistic glazing. Perimeter screening integrates drought tolerant native plantings and community artwork, while providing a new pocket park to the community. A photovoltaic canopy further reinforces the regenerative nature of this transformation.