STATUS
COMPLETED
CLIENT
New York City Department of Design and Construction
TYPOLOGY
Civic
SIZE M2/FT2
4,181 / 45,000
SHARE
Located in the South Bronx across the street from St. Mary’s Park, the new NYPD 40th Precinct replaces a station house on 138th Street and creates a dedicated space for the community, areas for fitness, and training for officers.
Commissioned by the New York Department of Design & Construction in 2014, the Precinct features 45,000 sq ft spread across three stories and includes a new piece of city programming: the first-ever community meeting room in a New York City police precinct.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
— The precinct requires 12 separate program types.
MASSING & PROGRAM
— Programs are organized vertically to retain required adjacencies and visual connections in a compact volume. Each program is represented by an individual volume stacked around a central atrium.
PRECINCTS WITHIN A PRECINCT
— Volumes are grouped based on the relationship between each program. Separation accommodates circulation while defining each box as a separate entity. This provides individual spaces for the precinct's groups, forming an urban plan at the scale of a building.
SETBACKS & WINDOWS
— A system of separation and setbacks is repeated on the upper floors. The setbacks push the volumes inward to create space for windows that are removed from the street, increasing privacy and security. They also accommodate mechanical and zoning requirements.
BRICKS
— From outside, the volumes resemble a stack of boxes, unified through material expression, or read as bricks, referencing the bases of early NYC precinct station houses. The bricks of the 40th Precinct seek to reference the various police and community functions that the building serves.
COMMUNITY
— A separately accessible community room is the first of its kind in the city. Small circular perforations in the street-facing façade highlight the special function of this particular space, creating transparency that is essential to this new kind of public space.
ATRIUM
— All program areas, entrances, and circulation routes are oriented towards the central atrium. This allows for complete oversight from the main desk while maintaining visual relationships between all floors. Clerestory windows at the upper levels bring daylight into the building's core.
PERIMETER & SETBACK FACADES
— All perimeter walls are sandblasted, pre-cast concrete panels, while setback facades are composed of polished concrete and reflective materials to contrast the perimeter walls. Glass is replaced with perforated metal to conceal mechanical equipment and allow airflow.
GREEN ROOF
— The 40th Precinct is the first precinct in NYC to have a green roof. Each roof has a unique sedum covering, visible from the offices at each level.
"The beautiful new 40th Precinct Station House is a resilient and environmentally-sustainable investment in community safety. The design is sophisticated and inviting, and includes a new community room and perimeter fence with great public art. The space also includes training and physical fitness areas for officers, plus generators, fuel tanks, and facilities they need to maintain services during an emergency. There's a green roof and high-efficiency building systems that will help meet LEED Gold standards for sustainability, and outside, the DDC teams regraded a large part of the block where a tow pound used to operate, removing old structures while adding trees and more than 1,000 other plantings. The DDC builds cool stuff all over the city, and we're proud to help NYPD in its critical mission."
The building’s form derives from its programmatic requirements, with individual volumes housing specific functions. The precast concrete façade alternates between sandblasted and polished finishes, which stand in contrast to the reflective glass and metal mesh on the rear exterior.
Solid perimeter walls ensure security, while glazed reentrant corners introduce natural light and views into the office spaces. These recessed walls also allow windows to be set back from the building’s edge, enhancing privacy.
The main entrance brings users directly into the center of the building, where a three story, 60-ft atrium connects each floor while bringing daylight in from above. On the interior, the station is enhanced with metal-paneled acoustic ceilings, ultra-high-performance concrete panels covering the walls, and terrazzo flooring in the lobby.
With its own street-level entrance, the community meeting room can hold classes or events, aiming to promote civic engagement and encourage dialogue with the community. The multipurpose space’s facade is punctuated with round windows in a gradient pattern, allowing for partial transparency with the street while differentiating it from the rest of the building. A vibrant mural commissioned by American artist Jeffrey Gibson adorns interior wall.
“What we've created together with the NYPD and the DDC is a precinct in a porous constellation of rooms stacked upon each other, slightly offset to create a sense of openness and invitation. With an entrance plaza and community space, the precinct is both a secure environment for those who work here and an inviting space for the community. Green roofs and abundant daylight bring nature and light into the building, while full system redundancy ensures resilience. The front plaza is designed to function like a park, creating a public space for everyone. The design of the NYPD 40th Precinct aims to make the building robust yet welcoming - a place that supports both the community and those who keep it safe.”
Amenities for the officers provide spaces for relaxation and exercise, including lockers, showers, and a stress reduction courtyard with separate areas for fitness. The Precinct also houses dedicated space for detective and domestic violence units.
Offices at the NYPD 40th Precinct look out onto green roofs atop each individual volume, which optimize the building’s energy performance. The station expresses the City’s commitment to environmental responsibility and is on track for LEED Gold certification.
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The NYPD 40th Precinct reimagines the traditional police station as a beacon of transparency and community engagement, creating a sustainable home for the police force that fosters civic dialogue and sets a new standard for public safety buildings across the city.
Bjarke Ingels Kai-Uwe Bergmann Thomas Christoffersen Beat Schenk Aran Coakley Davi Weber David Iseri Elizabeth Mcdonald Jan Leenknegt Maki Matsubayashi Michelle Stromsta Minjung Ku Nicholas Reddon Nojan Adami Phillip Macdougall Rita Sio Seo Young Shin Sören Grünert Tara Abedinitafreshi Yu Inamoto Tony-Saba Shiber Deb Campbell Jennifer Ng Adam Sheraden Daisy Zhong David Sharratt Douglass Alligood Molly Hsiao Rou Huang Jacob Waas John Kim Ku Hun Chung Liyang Zhang Megan Ng Yumiko Matsubara Ana Luisa Pedreira Ahmad Tabbakh Pooja Annamaneni Joanne Zheng
AWARDS
SARA Awards, Special Award for Innovation in Civic Design, 2024
NYC Public Design Commission 34th Annual Award for Excellence, 2016
COLLABORATORS
Silman
Cosentini
DACK
Tillotson
Starr Whitehouse
Philip Habib & Associates
Carlin Simpson & Associates
The Friday Group
CCI
Urban Arborists
RWDI
Key Engineering
Harvey Marshall Berlin Associates
IROS Elevator Design Services
BIG Ideas
