BUILDING COMMUNITY in a GLEN and a DALE

Voted in 2014 as the No. 1 place to live in Missouri, Glendale prides itself on the tightness and closeness of its community. The City of Glendale, MO was named after all the pristine “glens” and “dales” that existed in the area in the late 1800’s. A “glen” and a “dale” are narrow valleys running through hilly areas. Those terms, like many other English words, disappeared from our everyday lexicon, but the name Glendale remains.

JEMA’s site for the city’s new City Hall, Police Station and Fire Station is situated in a “glen”. The original forested valley and creek have been replaced with residences and a historic fire station from 1912.

But the glens and the dales remain.

JEMA’s design “cuts” the new fire station into the hillside of the glen/dale and as the building moves towards the valley, a new landscape of low limestone walls opens up for the community to gather. The design is distinctly modern, yet contextual in form and scale to the surrounding neighborhood.