Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Forensic Science Center is both a state-of-the-art forensics laboratory facility and a national leadership project for environmental / sustainable design - created as a LEED model for future projects undertaken by the Philadelphia Capital Program Office. The Center handles all crime scene evidence for the City of Philadelphia, with the exception of evidence from homicide crimes. The facility contains a Firearms Unit with a shooting range for ballistics analysis, a Crime Scene Unit for 24/7 evidence gathering, Chemistry laboratories for drug analysis, and Criminalistics and DNA laboratories for hair, blood and fiber analysis. The Center is housed in an Art Deco former school building that had been abandoned for many years, requiring specialized structural repairs to ensure safety. Located on a 2.16-acre site, it is a 44,000-square-foot building with four floors including a basement. In an under-served neighborhood of north Philadelphia with higher crime rates, lower income levels and fewer services, the new Forensic Science Center has helped to breathe new life and a better sense of security into an entire neighborhood.

Named one of the 'Top Ten' Green Projects in America for 2006 by the American Institute of Architects.

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