Designing for What’s Next

As fire and police departments across the country navigate new challenges — from emerging technology and emergency vehicle electrification to recruitment and wellness — so too must their facilities evolve.

Members of our Civic Building design team recently attended the 2025 Station Design Conference, where public safety leaders, architects, and planners gathered to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the industry.

Here are a few of the big takeaways, and how they’re influencing the way we design the next generation of public safety facilities.

Public safety facilities are being reimagined as community-centered, transparent, and welcoming spaces.

1. The Station as Civic Anchor

One of the conference’s recurring themes was the “front door philosophy”: the idea that fire and police stations should serve as welcoming, visible civic spaces, not just operational backbones. As communities call for more transparency and accessibility, we’re seeing a shift toward designs that encourage public interaction, reinforce community trust, and reflect civic pride.

At Shive-Hattery, we’re embracing this approach by helping clients shape stations that feel open, engaged, and deeply rooted in their neighborhoods.

Dedicated spaces for fitness, recovery, and routine care reshape how we support those who serve.

2. Designing for Tactical Therapy

A holistic approach that focuses on Physical Fitness and Rehabilitation, Mental Health Support, and Nutrition Values that improve firefighter performance, well-being, and a proactive approach in reducing injuries. Firefighter wellness continues to be a top priority. Discussions around “recharge rooms,” decontamination zones, and touchless entry portals illustrated a growing awareness of mental and physical risks in public safety work.

The architecture of fire and police stations must not only protect responders from exposure to contaminants, but also support them in decompressing after traumatic calls. We’re integrating features like red-light alarm systems, biophilic design elements, and restorative spaces into many of our new builds.

The push toward electric fleets is transforming not only how we respond, but where those vehicles live.

3. Electrification, Energy, and the EV Challenge

As states move toward mandates for electric vehicle (EV) fleets, safety officials grapple with infrastructure demands and new risks, especially the danger of battery thermal events.

The reality: EV storage and charging require rethinking traditional layouts, with fireproof barriers, dedicated ventilation, and flexible mechanical systems. Clients are planning for larger electrical rooms, possibly even “sacrificial” structures, or zones to contain a worst-case scenario.

4. Technology is Reshaping Response

New tools are changing how departments operate, and therefore how we must design. Concepts like drone-as-a-first-responder, aerial EMS, and remote surveillance are moving from fringe to feasible. These technologies raise architectural questions: Where are drones stored? How are they deployed? What security measures are needed?

Designers will need to work with clients to build flexible, tech-forward facilities that can grow with changing needs, not just react to them.

Fire and police respond together, do their recovery and safety infrastructure match?

5. Police Facility Design Deserves Equal Attention

Fire departments have long led the way in areas like decontamination and recovery, but the conference made clear that police departments need similar support.

With many municipalities combining police and fire operations in shared buildings, the stakes are even higher. At Shive-Hattery, we’re pushing to ensure that police personnel have equal access to recovery spaces, mental health infrastructure, and safety features tailored to their unique roles.

Leading With Insight

Our biggest takeaway from the conference? We need to lead with understanding. Every department is unique. Their funding levels, culture, goals, and operational challenges differ.

By listening closely, designing flexibly, and thinking ahead, we can help public safety officials turn their facilities into resilient, forward-thinking tools—built not just for today, but for what’s next.