Beverly Hills Communication Center
Beverly Hills, California

The Beverly Hills Communications Center Remodel presented many of the typical challenges of a communications center remodel. A temporary center had to be set-up on the floor above so that dispatchers could be isolated from the dust and noise of the remodel process. The original communications center did not have adequate acoustics or lighting and the view from the dispatch space was limited. The 5 dispatch positions were not adequate for future growth. The new center takes advantage of the space originally occupied by outdated CAD equipment, an inefficient training space, and a corridor alcove to provide an additional dispatch console, a break room, supervisors office, EOC work station, quiet room, and larger managers office. Ergonomically correct dispatch furniture replaces the original hard rack type furniture.

The irregular shape of the dispatch room has been treated as if it were an outdoor courtyard. The walls surrounding this space have been designed to look like building facades. The ceiling has been raised and indirect lighting used to create a bright sky-like look and a shadow-less even lighting throughout. Windows have been added to the corridor so that dispatchers are not cut off from the rest of the facility. Communication symbols are used in the design. The entry to the dispatch room is through a ramped hallway which ends in a space finished to look like a phone booth. The two columns in the space are finished to look like a clock tower and a kiosk. The irregular shape of the dispatch space, added acoustical wall finish, carpeted static-dissipative floor panels, and acoustical ceiling combine to quiet the room.