Firm Profile

History

Formerly Wilson Estes Police Architects, we recently changed our name to Police Facility Design Group to more clearly communicate who we are and what we do. Police Facility Design Group was founded in 1978 as “Polson Architects, Law Enforcement Specialists”, following the completion of participation in a four-year federal study to understand the limitations deficient facilities have on the delivery of police services. The firm, originally located in Champaign, Illinois, moved to Kansas City in 1986. Architect James Estes joined the firm that year, succeeding Polson in 1998. The firm’s focus continued to be exclusively dedicated to public safety facility planning and design. To further this goal, and after many years of providing facility planning assistance and instruction through the IACP, the firm founded the Police Facility Planning Institute (PFPI). PFPI serves as a means to disseminate information on sound facility planning practices to communities across the country, and conducts our popular “Successful Facility Planning” seminars each spring and fall. Initiated in 1992, these are the longest running independent training seminars in the country for police and public safety facility planning. The firm continues to carry on these traditions, focusing on the development of this one unique building type.

Approach

As a specialist in public safety facilities, we do not believe that there is only one way to plan and design an appropriate public safety facility and we will never force “our way” on a client. However, we do believe that the best way to meet a client’s needs and goals is by possessing a thorough understanding of the job they perform. We strive to develop facilities that stand the test of time; in part, by designing public safety buildings that follow industry standards, adapted to the unique needs of the specific client. We are also leaders in facility innovations that meet the evolving needs of the public safety industry and that assist agencies in delivering the most effective services to their communities. With an overriding sense of service to our clients, we relish in each relationship built and the projects that result from the collaboration between planner and public safety agency.

The Value of Experience

Police Facility Design Group develops buildings for just one client type – Public Safety Agencies. Your services will be provided with an understanding of the fragile nature of public decision-making. Your department management will work with professionals that are both experienced architects and public safety specialists. We are aware of current and emerging trends in public safety practices, often leading the development of how facilities can respond to and reinforce those trends. Your new facility will be innovative and have longevity, resulting in an ability to serve its’ community for decades. In our service to over three-hundred public safety agencies, we possess a diversity of experience, enabling the development of a unique response to your specific needs while maintaining the design standards common to most modern public safety facilities.

As a full-service architectural firm, we work daily to understand and accommodate public safety operations. From big picture planning issues to the smallest construction detail, Police Facility Design Group understands what is required of public safety project to be deemed successful. Your project team will also include engineers that are experienced in your project type and that have years of experience in working with our firm.

With our extensive experience in this one building type, our clients have confidence in knowing that the planning for their project is appropriate and justifiable, and that thorough planning and design detailing ensures accurate cost projections from beginning to end.