The Virginia State Police will soon begin driver training in a new $27.4 million complex set on 680 acres near Fort Pickett, just outside the town of Blackstone. Designed by Dewberry and constructed by KBS Inc., the facility includes 4.5 miles of urban, rural, and interstate roadway courses that simulate Virginia topography; a three-story, 52,000-sf training and dormitory building; an observation tower; and a vehicle maintenance garage.
The new training tracks feature a variety of road configurations, including a cloverleaf ramp, city intersections, interstate acceleration lanes, a roundabout, railroad tracks, a 25,000-sf skidpan, cul-de-sacs, and a 342,000-sf precision-driving course. The facility enables the police to combine behind-the-wheel training with simulations and classroom instruction at one site.
The training building includes 60 squad rooms that accommodate up to 120 cadets, theater-style classrooms, a cafeteria, offices, meeting space, and a driver simulation room with 550 LE Interactive Driving Simulation Systems that model the cockpit of a police cruiser.
Construction of a new firing range is set to begin this spring. The building was also designed to serve as an alternate emergency operations center for the Virginia State Police.
Design of the building combines brick, precast architectural block, and glass curtainwall. “The architecture reflects the modern, state-of-the-art training approach provided by the Virginia State Police, with a streamlined academic aesthetic in the materials and vertical elements,” says Larry Hasson, AIA, who led the architectural design team for Dewberry. In addition to architecture, Dewberry provided interior design and mechanical/electrical, structural, civil, and environmental engineering. +
Related Stories
Government Buildings | Mar 23, 2015
SOM leads planning for Egypt’s new $45 billion capital city
To alleviate overcrowding and congestion in Cairo, the Egyptian government is building a new capital from scratch.
Justice Facilities | Mar 5, 2015
New courthouse blossoms into a civic space for one California town
The building's canopy suggests classical courthouse features of front porch and portico. It also helps connect the building with a public plaza that has re-centered civic activity and public gathering for the town.
Justice Facilities | Mar 5, 2015
State of the state: How state governments are funding construction projects
State budget shortfalls are making new construction and renovation projects a tough sell, leading lawmakers to seek alternative funding for these jobs.
High-rise Construction | Mar 4, 2015
Must see: Egypt planning 656-foot pyramid skyscraper in Cairo
Zayed Crystal Spark Tower will stand 200 meters tall and will be just a short distance from the pyramids of Giza.
| Jan 6, 2015
Snøhetta unveils design proposal of the Barack Obama Presidential Center Library for the University of Hawaii
The plan by Snøhetta and WCIT Architecture features a building that appears square from the outside, but opens at one corner into a rounded courtyard with a pool, Dezeen reports.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.
| Dec 29, 2014
HealthSpot station merges personalized healthcare with videoconferencing [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
The HealthSpot station is an 8x5-foot, ADA-compliant mobile kiosk that lets patients access a network of board-certified physicians through interactive videoconferencing and medical devices. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction
Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA course: Enhancing interior comfort while improving overall building efficacy
Providing more comfortable conditions to building occupants has become a top priority in today’s interior designs. This course is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Dec 28, 2014
10 key design interventions for a healthier, happier, and more productive workplace
Numerous studies and mountains of evidence confirm what common sense has long suggested: healthy, happier workers are more productive, more likely to collaborate with colleagues, and more likely to innovate in ways that benefit the bottom line, writes Gensler's Kirsten Ritchie.
