Mini Prefab Police Station Lays Down The Law In Hanover, Germany

Police officers on duty in Hanover, Germany were recently treated to a nifty new prefabricated mobile <a href="http://inhabitat.com/hollenbeck-police-station-las-men-in-blue-go-green/">police station</a> this summer, replacing their old, ugly VW bus. Set across the street from the Turkish consulate in the Nordstadt district, the station fits within the urban context and also gives the police a more modern, public image. Designed by <a href="http://www.gesamt-konzept.com/" target="_blank">Gesamtkonzept</a> with the frame of a conventional container, the Mobile Police Station is an an energy-efficient crime-fighting unit that makes use of natural daylighting, ventilation and good insulation.

The original <a href="http://inhabitat.com/bulli-volkswagen-releases-an-all-electric-concept-version-of-the-classic-vw-bus/">VW bus</a> police station at the Turkish consulate was considered ugly by many, so Tev Wilhelmsen of Gesamtkonzept proposed a new modern idea to the police department.

Wilhelmsen's concept received full support from the department and a year after the proposal, it was built and in place.

Now a modern police station fits within the urban context and its transparent and open design improves the image of the department and the work they do there.

Although, the station is expected to permanently reside there, the concept allows it to be moved if necessary and others can be <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/prefab">prefabricated</a> inexpensively for other locations and situations.

Construction of the prefab mobile mini police station.

The station is 8 sq m (83 sq ft) in size and is large enough for a desk on one side and two seats with a small table on the other.

Long skinny windows allow for <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/natural-daylighting">natural daylighting</a> and increased visibility from inside to the consulate across the street.

This transparency is important not only for the police officers' work, but also for their public image in the city.

Natural ventilation and good insulation eliminate the need for air conditioning during the summer months.

The facade is covered in rust colored, wood-like laminated panels chosen to match the nearby Christ Church

Fabrication of the station was carried out by a company that produces mobile container solutions for different sectors and industries in Germany.

The police station makes use of steel-frame construction, insulation of walls and roof, curtained rear-ventilated facade, and panels made of high pressure laminate.