Blueprint for Success: What to Expect at 2025 Station Design Conference

The annual Station Design Conference, presented by OFFICER and Firehouse magazines, offers a unique learning and networking experience for public safety officials who are actively involved in designing a new law enforcement, fire or shared facility. The SDC is focused on providing attendees with information on the latest trends in the design and construction of state-of-the-art facilities.

The 2025 SDC will take place at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel in Glendale, Arizona, with 1-on-One Sessions held Monday, May 19 and the main conference and exposition held May 20-22. More than 80 architecture firms and companies that provide goods and services focused on the needs of public safety facilities will be exhibiting and presenting at the conference.

The SDC’s 1-on-One session helps public safety officials receive feedback and guidance on their facility design plans from a group of nationally recognized architects from across the country. The 1-on-One session will begin at 10 a.m. and include an opening presentation and Q&A panel, short seminars and the 45-minute small group sessions.

McAllen, Texas, Fire Chief Jim Schultz shared his experience from the 1-on-One session last year. “This was my first time at the Station Design Conference, and I attended the 1-on-One session. I brought the plans for our two most recently built fire stations and explained the history of the similar problems we were experiencing at both stations. The assigned architect turned a specific page of the plans and within one minute identified the issue and spent the next 15 minutes explaining mitigation efforts to address the situation. I was highly impressed with his expertise and ease at which he found the problem and would highly recommend the 1-on-One session to any of my colleagues.”

Tuesday, May 20 begins with the welcome and opening remarks and the opening keynote “Next Generation Public Safety Facilities” by Dennis Ross and Patrick Stone from H2M architects + engineers. The session will cover how trends in public safety facilities are beginning to shift to electric vehicles, net-zero buildings and technology-heavy systems.

As with past years, the conference will be broken into different tracks. Track 2 will be the Law Enforcement Track. Some of the sessions will include general information for all attendees but will all pertain to topics that will be of high importance to law enforcement attendees. The track will kick off with “Police Officer Wellbeing: How Building Design Impacts Mental and Physical Health,” presented by Brian Berryhill and Tyler Joseph from Roth Sheppard Architects. The presentation will explain how the architecture of police facilities plays a pivotal role in shaping the work environment and overall well-being of law enforcement professionals.

On Wednesday, Raymond Lee from FGM Architects will present “The Basics of Law Enforcement Indoor Firing Range Design.” The session will discuss what a department needs to know when planning a new indoor firing range, renovating an existing range, or considering building a range within an existing building.

At the conclusion of the conference on Thursday, attendees will be able to take a tour of the Surprise, Arizona, Public Safety Evidence & Readiness Center, sponsored by Spacesaver.

Fabrizio P. Busso Campana, COO MVP Group—SteriKlean, lauded the conference for offering a great atmosphere for both vendors and attendees last year. “I’ve been attending conferences for over three decades across various industries, and this is by far one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended. The location was excellent, as well as the set-up. The quality of content was top-notch and the attendees (both exhibitors and conference participants) were highly engaged.”

If your agency is in the process of building a new facility or planning to build one in the next few years, make sure to check out this year’s conference.

If your agency is in the process of building a new facility or planning to build one in the next few years, make sure to check out this year’s conference.

For more information, visit: fhstationdesign.com