Finished in December 2018, this project transformed three buildings on an aging campus in Albuquerque into the area’s headquarters for families in crisis. Children who are brought into the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Dept. (CYFD) headquarters are often confronting difficult and emotional circumstances.

The 150,000-sq-ft facility contains a multitude of family services such as juvenile justice and includes information technology upgrades, a kitchen, a training academy and office space for more than 500 employees.

The headquarters was designed to be a safe environment for staff, families and children, with visitation spaces to facilitate open discussion and comfort. The color palette was designed to complement the facility’s calm and secure environment. In contrast, the bright colors in the library—complete with books, stuffed animals and toys—encourage children to play.

Work on three out of five campus buildings included major architectural changes, MEP upgrades, new finishes, furniture and equipment procurement and an overhaul of site infrastructure. The project team used design-build delivery to begin renovations before design was complete in order to finish the center in a compressed, 164-day schedule because of an expiring lease at the agency’s previous location.

“There are rare instances of something of this magnitude and importance coming together within state government,” says John Jaramillo, CYFD project director.

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