Bernalillo County Public Safety Training Academy Earns Green Globes
County initiative prioritizes higher‑performing public facilities
We’re glad to share that the Bernalillo County Public Safety Training Academy has earned Green Globes® certification. This recognition reflects Bernalillo County’s leadership in investing in buildings that perform efficiently, support occupant well‑being, and respect our shared resources—values that guided the project from its earliest planning in 2020.
What Green Globes recognizes
Green Globes is an independent certification that helps project teams identify, implement, and measure strategies for high‑performance, lower‑impact buildings. The program evaluates work across seven categories: Project Management, Site, Energy, Water, Materials & Resources, Emissions, and Indoor Environment—with a strong emphasis on energy performance alongside occupant comfort, durability, maintainability, and responsible material use.
Why it matters
Public safety training facilities are mission‑critical. By elevating energy performance and indoor environmental quality, the Academy supports the people who train there while lowering operational impacts over time. For SMPC, this milestone is especially meaningful; it’s the first project in our portfolio to earn Green Globes certification, and it reinforces our commitment to designing facilities where sustainability and building performance are baseline expectations, not add‑ons.
Design approach and performance strategy
From the outset, the team aligned the Training Academy with 2018 IECC energy code requirements for its building type—pursuing solutions that are simple, reliable, and easy to maintain. The approach emphasized:
- Optimized building envelope performance and added insulation where beneficial.
- Daylighting and lighting controls to reduce lighting power density while enhancing visual comfort.
- Right‑sized, efficient mechanical and electrical systems with straightforward controls and Facility Management System integration.
- Selection of an Additional Efficiency Package Option per IECC to elevate baseline performance.
- Solar energy systems, motion-sensing lighting, and smart controls to reduce emissions and operational energy demand.
In cases where both IECC 2018 and Green Globes criteria applied, the team committed to meeting the more stringent requirement, reinforcing the project’s performance goals. Life‑cycle thinking informed major decisions—balancing first cost, energy use, maintenance, and replacement horizons to support long‑term County stewardship.
Thank you to Bernalillo County and our project partners for their trust and collaboration. We enthusiastically look forward to continuing this work in communities across New Mexico.
Project team
This outcome reflects a collaborative effort among public, design, and construction partners:
- Owner/Client: Bernalillo County who established clear sustainability goals, championing high‑performance capital investments.
- Sustainable Design: Verdacity (Green Globes Professional)
- Architect of Record & Project Management: SMPC Architects
- Consulting Architect (national perspective & public safety expertise): RDG Planning & Design
- Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Engineering: Bridgers & Paxton
- General Contractor: Bradbury Stamm
