Quite simply, the campus of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies is stunning. Founded in 1960, the institute was the brainchild of Jonas Salk, who –after developing the polio vaccine – envisioned a research center where biologists could study collaboratively the compelling issues facing the human condition. Salk’s architectural requirements were equally far reaching.
Given 27 acres on a mesa over the Pacific Ocean by the city of San Diego, Salk challenged architect Louis Kahn to “create a facility worthy of a visit by Picasso.” The result was twin concrete structures spanned by a courtyard that magnify and reflect the expansive views of the sky and sea. Laboratories and offices are filled with natural light and the whole complex takes on a pinkish hue at sunset.
Today, Salk draws not only top scientists and Nobel laureates, but also aficionados of architecture. Design tours are scheduled from Monday through Friday and the Salk Institute is a justifiably popular site for special events. Meanwhile, approximately 61 faculty and 850 scientists are busy expanding the reach of human knowledge. Between the facilities’ beauty and its scientific achievements, the last thing you think about is security.
And that’s exactly the intention.
“This is an architectural phenomenon; we want you to come here and not be overwhelmed by security,” says Jules De La Cruz, Salk’s Director of Security Services. “The same goes for the scientist. The last thing we want them to be is distracted by security; we want them to feel safe 24-hours a day to do their research.”
To that end, a team of Securitas USA officers supplements the small in-house force. Core security services include extensive access control and door checks, patrols and parking enforcement. Officers must be vigilant enough to help ensure the integrity of the research facility while also having a knack for a gracious and courteous welcome – personal touches, like a ride from the far end of the parking lot, are common at Salk. Needless to say, officers must have excellent people skills and be able to communicate well with both the visiting public and the high-level faculty.
“What we need in our officers is a level of expertise and familiarity with biotech,” explains De La Cruz. “They need to have been around scientists, know their way around a laboratory and know the importance of things going on within a research facility. I’m very, very satisfied with the type of relationship we’ve developed; they seem to have a real forte in the biotech industry and are doing a phenomenal job.”
In addition, Securitas USA officers man a variety of internal and external events that fill the campus calendar – symposiums, conferences and black tie events bring all sorts of VIPs to the institute. Last spring, two dozen additional officers were brought on for three weeks to help with a full schedule of events that celebrated the Salk’s fiftieth anniversary, including an outdoor installation of artist Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures. Officers helped ensure the safety of the facility and the sculptures, which, it’s worth noting, were not roped off.
The contract with Securitas USA is relatively new, and De La Cruz was at first very skeptical of working with a national company. “I was always afraid we’d be a name and a number. Instead, Securitas made me an absolute priority; it doesn’t even occur to me that they’re an international company. They’ve done a really good job of providing all the resources of a huge company with the personal attention of a local firm.”
One of the issues most critical to De La Cruz is keeping current with industry trends. “There are lots of companies out there stressing training who are still using paper and ink, old training videos and doing incident reports on carbon. Securitas offers online streaming, web-based training and keeps up with what’s going on with the world today. My Securitas branch manager is at every security industry meeting that I’m at – he’s hearing the same things I am and keeping current with industry trends.”
“It’s the nuance of biotech – if we’re on the cutting edge of research, I don’t need a guard company in the Stone Age. Instead, a world class facility needs a world class security company.”