Buncombe County Public Safety Training Center

This 43,375 square-foot building serves as the central classroom and administrative building for training EMS, police and fire department personnel as part of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s Emergency Services Training campus in Woodfin, NC. In addition to classrooms and offices, the building houses labs, an ambulance bay, multi-purpose/auditorium space and common break areas. Designing this building was an exciting opportunity for us, and we engaged the project stakeholders in what we call a participatory design process. In a series of large and small group meetings, we gathered input from AB Tech faculty and administration, as well as Buncombe County’s Planning and Facilities departments, and the chiefs of every fire department in the county.

As with all of our projects, sustainability was a priority, and we used such strategies as high levels of insulation, daylighting, LED lighting, and a high-efficiency HVAC system to increase the energy efficiency of the building.

In the design of the Buncombe County Public Safety Training Center, we formed a joint architectural venture with Stewart Cooper Newell Architects of Gastonia, NC, providing full architectural services from predesign through the construction phase. The project was expertly constructed by local General Contractor, Hickory Construction Company.

General Contractor: Hickory Construction Company
Architectural Partner: Stewart Cooper Newell Architects
Structural Engineer: Kloesel Engineering
MEP Engineer: Optima Engineers
Photographer: J. Weiland