LAPD’s Valley Bomb Squad and Training Facility Opens

by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

How do you . . . develop a state-of-the art bomb squad training facility that accommodates for future expansion?

Summary: WWCOT Architects designed a new $7 million Valley Bomb Squad and Training Facility for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) campus in Granada Hills, Calif. The 9,200-square-foot facility, located north of downtown Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, officially opened in January. LAPD officers will use the facility to train on domestic terrorism response and the handling of explosives and hazardous materials. The facility, funded through a $600 million bond approved by voters in 2002 to renovate and construct public safety facilities, allows for future growth and technologies in LAPD emergency response.

The Valley Bomb Squad and Training Facility was built for the continued training of the LAPD Bomb Squad, a separate division of LAPD. The L-shaped building, located on a 4.5 acre site north of downtown Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, will be supplemented in a few months by a second bomb squad training facility in downtown L.A. Together, the two facilities will cover increased ground throughout the city, thus decreasing emergency response times to any type of domestic terrorism threat. A third bomb squad staff also currently operates out of Los Angeles Airport.

Andrea Cohen Gehring, FAIA, design partner, WWCOT Architects, says that since 9/11, the LAPD hasn’t had proper facilities for bomb scares, bioterrorism, and environmental threats. “They developed an amazing bomb squad group, but were actually operating out of a temporary trailer,” says Gehring. WWCOT worked with the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering to develop the two new training facilities. “These facilities are often a utilitarian warehouse, and your first impulse on this type of project is that the building doesn’t have to be a jewel,” Gehring says. “But both the City of Los Angeles and the LAPD had a lot of pride in this project. And for us, a building like this should be a jewel. It will instill pride in the police officers who walk in and out of its doors; who are risking their lives for the rest of us. Why not thank them and celebrate their pride and talent?”

Top secret
The Valley Bomb Squad and Training Facility will be in constant training mode, staying ahead of the latest bomb and threat technologies, explains Gehring, who can’t reveal too many details about the facility. “We are sworn to secrecy. It’s a highly confidential and secure environment. But the city and the LAPD want citizens to know that these facilities exist and to feel secure. The details, however, can’t be revealed for privacy and security reasons. The LAPD wants to stay 10 steps ahead of terrorists and their ability to create a hazard, whether it’s a bomb, a liquid, or any material. People are figuring out ways to blow things up on a daily basis.”

Gehring does, however, reveal that the L-shaped building defines a private courtyard where officers train to dismantle bombs using robots. “They needed a certain amount of outdoor space for a variety of training and exercises. The courtyard is enclosed so anyone with binoculars can’t see what the Bomb Squad is doing and how it’s doing it.” She adds that inside there are offices, labs, conference and training rooms, a lobby, hi-tech and audio visual training, a bay for access to vehicles, and a support structure for the bomb-sniffing dogs.

Challenge and responsibility in doing public architecture
The facility’s layout allows for expansion and changes in training and technology. “We know public buildings are funded with bonds and certain funding types—where the money is there, and then it’s gone,” Gehring says. “The challenge for architects doing public buildings is stretching those dollars to create a building that’s going to withstand the test of time while at the same time be designed and constructed in an economical way. How do we create such a building—from an architectural, technological, and flexibility standpoint—knowing full well that technology and training are probably going to change in 5 or 10 years?

“The buildings in Los Angeles are here for 50-60 years. As architects, the challenge and responsibility in doing public architecture is creating a building that we believe is going to be there a long time and accommodate change in technology and use. We have a responsibility to our community. It’s not about a pretty picture in our portfolio.”

An example Gehring gives is putting additional outlets in the electrical system to anticipate for future expansion. “The user may not change the carpet every five years,” she points out. “But the building needs to be flexible to take change over time for the things that the user might need to happen. These buildings also need to be designed well, constructed in an easy manner because it’s usually a low-bid scenario, and maintenance free.”