Law Enforcement:
Albuquerque PD - Northwest Area Command
Fire Stations:
Albuquerque FD - Stations 5 + 21
BernCo Fire and Rescue - Stations 2 + 8
Emergengy Operations / Communications:
NM National Guard 64th WMD-CST Ready Bldg
“I find your accommodation of our special needs, and thoughtful consideration of sometimes competing interests to be especially refreshing. While the Colfax County government, with tax revenues, is funding the project, we are all extremely satisfied with the amount of time you’ve spent with us in seeking our input on the facility.”
John M. Paternoster
District Judge
State of New Mexico Eighth Judicial District Court
Public Safety Projects:
Albuquerque PD - La Cueva Substation
BernCo Sheriffs North Valley Area Command
Bloomfield PD HDQ
Bosque Farms PD HDQ
Colfax County Sheriffs HDQ
Isleta Pueblo PD HDQ
San Juan County Sheriffs Department HDQ
Taos Regional Command Comm. Center
Albuquerque FD - Station 20
Bloomfield FD HDQ
Bosque Farms FD HDQ
Isleta Pueblo FD HDQ
Village of Ruidoso FD HDQ
Moreno Valley FD Val Verde Fire Station
Architecture
Planning
Interiors
COLFAX COUNTY - LEON KARELITZ JUDICIAL CENTER
Colfax County is blessed with a wealth of natural attributes and a richly diverse cultural history. The citizens value the rural lifestyle of their community, and the Judicial Center architecture ackowledges and respects these characteristics. The Center reflects a solemn sense of dignity, wisdom, and honor appropriate to the locale and function. Like traditional robed judicial dress, the facility respectfully and symbolically adorns dominating black masonry facades, which are also reminiscent of bitumen deposits mined in the region.
Though the County's initial program included District Courts, Sheriff's Headquarters, District Attorney's Offices, and an Emergency Operations Center, there were several budget constraints that had to be addressed first. A phasing strategy was developed, and the Phase I architectural design will allow for easy expansion in Phase II. The first phase includes the Courts and Sheriff's Headquarters, while the second phase will be comprised of the District Attorney's Office and an EOC.
Two distinct volumes form the building - a taller, black block volume contains Court spaces, while a lower, white volume containes Law Enforcement spaces. The naturally sloping site allowed the design team to place the custody spaces, which need the highest security, on a lower level, thus reducing the amount of secure custody circulation on the main level. Controlled day-lighting filters throughout most of the main level, reducing the need for artificial light and creating a sense of ease in workplaces that, due to their nature, are often stressful.
Owner: Colfax County
Location: Raton, NM
Size: 17,000 SF
Photos by Kirk Gittings
© RMKM Architecture, P.C. 2012. All rights reserved.
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