Ensuring A Safer Tomorrow For Our City & Citizens | Essay 19.4

Essay 19. 4

ZIEGLER COOPER

Ensuring A Safer Tomorrow For Our City & Citizens The Tilman Fertitta Tactical Training Center

NOT AN ACTION MOVIE One can imagine Shemar Moore

taking

tactical

police training for his roles in

Criminal

Minds

and

S.W.A.T. This is the stuff of action movies, but in real life police officers need to be prepared and practiced to face violence in any possible circumstance. In a January 30, 2019 press interview, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that tactical training would help save lives; “The life we may save is one of yours, your loved ones, your neighbors, your friend or your coworkers, but we will be better prepared,� he said.

Whether in a night club, a hotel, a bank, a place of worship, a workplace or a school, active shooter scenarios

play

out

in

devastating ways all across our nation. Still a rarity, tactical villages like the one featured here, are critical to police force readiness.

EXPLODED VIEW OF THE TILMAN FERTITTA FAMILY TACTICAL TRAINING CENTER

2

RESPONDING TO THE NEED We are all part of a different world

now,

so

enforcement

multiple

agencies

law train

together in locations across the United States, to respond to active shooter situations, so that everyone will know how they will respond.

These teams may also practice mass

casualty

and

hostage

Housed

entirely

unassuming

shell

within of

a

the pre-

engineered steel building, this state-of-the-art

training

includes

intersecting

two

facility city

streets (paved for the heaviest tactical

vehicles).

This

allows

department access with a full complement

of

vehicles

and

equipment and in the most lifelike setting possible.

HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY The Tactical

Tilman

Fertitta

Training

Family

Center

will

revolutionize training for officers by providing a venue for high level training. It will equip officers to arrive at a scene ready for immediate response, by training in life-like mock-ups of most building types that one might encounter in

local

On three quadrants flanking the

any part of an urban or suburban

schools and other public locations.

streets are six individual “training

location. So specialized is the

To greatly enhance the availability

modules”

buildings

level of equipment incorporated,

and frequency of reality-based

designed to simulate real-world

that architects, engineers and

training of these kinds of scenarios

environments of a hotel lobby,

suppliers must coordinate every

in the Houston area, the Houston

townhouses, school classrooms, a

minute detail from the earliest

Police Foundation commissioned

donut shop, a convenience store/

phase of the project. Incorporating

the design and construction of the

gas station, and a bank.

the latest technology, the Center

response

scenarios

at

$10 million Tilman Fertitta Family Tactical Training Center.

–

replica

The fourth quadrant houses staff offices, training classrooms,

Located on the north side of

a live-fire simulator and a control

the

room to monitor exercises and

training center began in January

training missions underway in the

2019 with completion in late 2019.

modules, and provides access to

The facility will provide a space

the extensive catwalk system.

Houston,

construction

of

to train officers in how best to respond to the modern challenges

offers constant direct monitoring of training sessions and simulations via an overhead catwalk and the latest digital video and audio systems. Thus, not only are training sessions recorded for playback and analysis, but sessions are enhanced with sound-effects and realistic, day or night lighting.

and conditions that officers face, such as active shooter, hostage, and terrorist situations.

3

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: STEVE LUCCHESI, AIA A graduate of Texas A&M University,

LOCAL SUPPORT MAKES IT POSSIBLE

Steve has more than 30 years of experience in architectural design and management.

According to the Houston Police Foundation, The Tilman Fertitta Family Tactical

His work has received several awards and

Training Center is a critical step toward ensuring a safer tomorrow for Houstonians. (It

has been internationally published. He is

was an urgent need for the 4th largest city in the United States, as it may be for many

a member of the Board of Directors and

other large cities.) The Foundation was formed by local business leaders to support

Chairman of the Buildings Committee at

projects of the Houston Police. A respected businessman of the Houston community,

the Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park.

Tilman Fertitta has been Chairman of the Board at Houston Police Foundation for more than a decade. His leadership has been a pivotal force in bringing the project to reality. Completion of the Center represents a paradigm shift in the way police officers deliver and receive training. It will provide unparalleled realism and instant evaluation which will reduce both civilian and officer injuries and death.

ADAPTING TO CONSTANTLY CHANGING THREATS The Center was designed by Houston architecture firm Ziegler Cooper and the project was led by architect Steve Lucchesi, AIA, a graduate of Texas A&M University with more than 30 years of experience in architectural design and management.

Steve’s passion for community extends to helping to promote the safety of our citizens, police officers and other first responders through his professional work with various public safety institutions. His clientele includes municipalities and civic organizations, religious institutions, and educational establishments. “While we are well known for

Steve’s passion for community extends to helping to promote the safety of our citizens, police officers and other first responders through his professional work with various public safety institutions.

As Education, Worship and Community Practice Area Leader, Steve is responsible for

the

general

administration

review of projects. His clientele includes municipalities and civic organizations, religious

institutions,

and

establishments.

our expertise in many forms of urban architecture, we also have a deep concern for the welfare of communities and have a good deal of experience with public safety projects,” he said. Lucchesi hopes to work with other cities’ agencies in the future to provide similar high-level training facilities to help keep officers safe and help them adapt to constantly changing threats.

4

and

Ziegler Cooper Architects 700 Louisiana, Ste 350 Houston, TX 77002 t: 713.374.0000 www.zieglercooper.com

educational