BIG breaks ground on concrete stacked bronx police station

bjarke ingels’ firm has broken ground on its design for a police station in the bronx, new york, that will consist of intersecting concrete blocks. the design references the rusticated bases of early new york police stations with each individual volume containing a specific element of the internal program, and is topped with a green roof.

images courtesy of BIG

new york mayor bill de blasio announced that construction has begun on the BIG’s new building for the 40th precinct in the bronx. it has been over two years since plans for the project were first announced.

the 42,000-square-foot station hopes to encourage a dialogue with the community with the first-ever community events space built in an NYPD facility. officer training rooms, storage, and maintenance rooms for gear and vehicles make up the other areas.

‘while crime is at a record low in new york city, there is still more work to do to ensure that every new yorker feels safe in their neighborhood,’ de blasio said in a statement. ‘this new precinct will strengthen the bond between community and police, which will ultimately help make the south bronx and our city safer.‘

BIG took over the project which is part of the new york department of design and construction’s design excellence program, which has faced criticisms for cost overruns and project delays. initial plans to design the new building began 10 years ago when the city first tapped alexander gorlin architects to envision the station.