A NEW PARADIGM FOR TOW POUNDS
The NYPD Auto Pound is run by the Property Clerk Division whose mission is to catalog, safeguard and store all property coming into police department custody until asked to produce it for court, return it to the legal owner or otherwise dispose of it. Need for the new facility grew out of a plan to relocate the Auto Pound from its existing home in College Point, Queens to make way for the construction of a new police academy.
Located within a fenced and secure area at the edge of the John F.Kennedy International Airport, the project location is comprised of approximately 550,800 sf or 12.64 acres off Rock away Boulevard and contains long term storage for 3,500 - 4,000 vehicles. The project entailed design of a 10,000 sf administration building that houses the NYPD Auto Pound staff and includes a public redemption area, offices, open plan workstations, a stress reduction room, locker rooms and a file archive area. The facility also has a large porte-cochere that shields several vehicle inspection stations from inclement weather.
The building’s design is an exercise in reductive geometry; the administrative functions are housed within a simple rectangular volume that is juxtaposed by the overlapping porte-cochere structure, producing counter-rotated rectangular shapes. The building is wrapped in aluminum composite panels that allude to the acres of impounded metal cars outside and provide a rational minimalist aesthetic. Ribbon windows punctuate the façade, let natural light in and add a sense of linear movement that partially reveals the open volume within. The high ceilings with exposed structural elements enhance the perception that the building is a machine void of any excess or waste.
Designed to achieve a LEED Silver rating, the compound is fitted with many sustainable features such as the aluminum composite panel cladding system, low-e double glazed windows and storefront, high reflectance PVC roof membrane, geothermal heat pump system, energy recovery units, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and energy efficient lighting fixtures and control systems.
Material Used :
1. Facade Panels: Luminator
2. Windows: Kawneer Glass - Viracon
3. Roofing: Johns Manville
4. Garage Door: Raynor
