City of Houston Emergency Center

The largest facility of its type in the nation, this 128,000-square-foot consolidated public safety communication complex responds to 3.6 million emergency calls annually.

PGAL provided architecture, engineering, and interior design services for the project. The complex includes a situation room with state-of-the-art technology, an auditorium and press room, and facilities for administration, operations, and dispatch. The complex also includes building systems with 24/7 redundancy.

PGAL worked with the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety, the Building Services Department, Fire Department, Police Department, Houston Emergency Operations Center, and 9-1-1 Dispatch to develop a modular, expandable facility to consolidate the City’s emergency communications systems and personnel. Consolidation of the center and systems improves response times and saves the City approximately $7 million per year. Combining all systems in one location allows emergency personnel to coordinate all communication and information management systems. This also allowed for the upgrade and standardization of existing hardware and software used for dispatch and record management.

The 9-1-1 Dispatch responds to 3.6 million emergency calls annually. Fire Dispatch maintains constant communications with emergency personnel and 85 fire stations throughout 850 square miles, dispatching 270 emergency vehicles to an estimated 75,000 fires and 180,000 medical incidents annually.

Functions housed in the building include administration, call takers and dispatch, operations staff, building system support for 24/7 operation, auditorium that doubles as a press room, and situation room that houses the mayor and other public officials during an emergency.