Overview

21st century police work requires work spaces and functionality that simply was not available within the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop K’s (Troop K) existing headquarter facilities. We worked with Buell Kratzer Powell Architects to design a new headquarters building and maintenance garage for Troop K, which was to replace existing buildings that were over 60 years old and in poor condition. We provided professional mechanical and electrical engineering services for the three story, 45,000 sq.ft. headquarters building and a separate 9,200 sq.ft. garage.

The new headquarters building and garage were designed and built adjacent to the existing headquarters and garage building. Purposeful phasing and construction allowed for Troop K to utilize the existing facilities until the new buildings were operational, then the existing facilities were demolished and converted to parking areas. The headquarters building includes offices, communications rooms, forensics lab, arms and evidence storage, interview rooms, locker rooms, a command center, a gym, and elevators. The garage includes 3 service bays, motorcycle storage, and automotive chemicals storage.

Electrical
Since the headquarters houses first responders and emergency personnel, a 1MW diesel generator provides 100% emergency power, for the building to operate fully under any circumstances.

Lighting
The building lighting system was devised with a programmable lighting control system with high-efficiency light fixtures. The lighting included occupancy and daylighting controls for energy savings.

HVAC
The headquarters building includes a double-ventilated curtain wall system that not only gives the appearance of transparency, given the limited window requirements of Troop K, but also increased HVAC efficiency by collecting and exhausting heat in the summer and retaining that heat in the winter.

Both ground source heat pump and groundwater heat source pumps were evaluated for the heating and cooling systems. Ultimately, a ground source heat pump system, that included a water-to-water heat pump for providing domestic hot water, was chosen since it provided lower first and overall life cycle costs. A supplemental cooling tower also adds extra cooling capacity as needed, and energy recovery units use the exhausted air to preheat or precool outside air, increasing system efficiency.

In the garage, radiant heat floors keep the service bay areas comfortable; the exhaust system and oil/water separators keep the air and water discharges clean.