Police Station Vaals

This police station is located on the edge of Vaals, in the far southeast corner of the Netherlands, a mere kilometer from the German city of Aachen. The office is perpendicularly situated to the village s arterial road&which continues onward toward Germany&and its elongated volume parallels a road that converges with the other, by way of a roundabout. Two means of access are provided: those by foot are ushered up toward the main entrance from the roundabout via an angular concrete ramp, while those by car approach the office by first proceeding through a cut in a massive berm, which camouflages the office from public view. Composed in a series of three rectangular volumes&of zinc, wood, and concrete&the office occupies a sloping site that overlooks an expansive field used as grazing land for cattle. And so cows, for instance, can often be seen brushing against the concrete volume, which tapers at one end into an angular edge of glazing, to allow for panoramic views. The zinc clad volume contains the reception space, a display case for police hats, and the holding cells. Each cell contains a minuscule opening that looks toward the St. Benedictusberg Abbey in the distance&a subtle reminder to those in the cells to contemplate the reasons for their stay. The wood volume contains technical and administrative spaces, and the concrete volume the individual work stations&the office s most private space. Due to the cinematographic sequence of entry, and the ordering of programmatic values, from public to private, this police station embodies a simultaneous spirit of openness and restraint.

Geothermal heating/louvers