The new main fire station, police headquarters and emergency command were co-located with the existing village hall and municipal court facilities to improve public services, reduce operating costs, and create share space. The study of traditional agrarian structures, and their relationships, yielded a wealth of time tested solutions that influenced the ultimate design solutions ranging from the most global master plan issues and the buildings, to the most minute construction details. The existing site was surveyed and studied to identify valuable attributes to be preserved, while other inappropriate characteristics and components were evaluated for elimination (i.e., demolition/removal, relocation, and/or redesign).

Once the existing site and complex were assessed, the objective was to develop a Master plan that would provide the entire municipal complex (i.e., new and old) with a collective and cohesive sense of place.

"Center" public gathering places such as main streets, plazas, zocalos, town squares, and ritual grounds were considered as appropriate organizing elements, about which the needed facilities and site amenities could be ordered. With the public court yard and plaza as the prime objectives the process became a classic exercise in the study of the interdependence between "positive" and "negative" space.

Project Details

• Firm: Rohde May Keller McNamara Architecture, PC
• Design Team: Don H. May, AIA, Architect of Record; Don P. Schlegel, FAIA, QA/QC/CA; Daniel Chavez, LEED, Project Manager; Ramon Sarason, AIA, LEED, Design Support; David Williams, AIA, Design Support; LRA Inc., Larry Read, PE, Civil Engineering; JJK Group Inc., Jim Kapuranis, PE, Structural Engineering; FEI Inc., Ed Fogleman, Mechanical/Plumbing/FP Engineering; HDI Inc., Tom Hughes, Electrica/Data/Comm. Engineering
• Client: Village of Bosque Farms
• Location: Bosque Farms, New Mexico
• Fire Chief: Spencer Wood

Project Data

• Project Area: 8,500 sq. ft.
• Total Cost: $2.1 million
• Cost per Square Foot: $247
• Completion Date: June 2006

Entry Information

• Competition: 2009 Station Style Design Awards
• Category: Shared Facilities
• Category Citation: Gold Award