Architects should break up the massive, “boring” appearance of San Rafael’s proposed downtown public safety building and make it tie in better with City Hall across the street, Design Review Board members said this week.

“Perhaps one part of the building could be raised up somewhat … and we could have some element in the middle or somewhere that gives emphasis to the building,” said board member Bob Huntsberry. “It will be one of the most seen buildings in San Rafael and it should be an icon, and it’s boring right now.”

The board Tuesday recommended several modifications to plans for the $43 million project at 1039 C St., situated across Fifth Avenue from City Hall.

The center, which would be financed by revenue from the Measure E sales tax hike passed by voters in 2013, will house fire, police and emergency services.

Mary McGrath, the Oakland-based architect whose firm was hired by the city to design the center, left the meeting with a variety of suggestions to improve the building’s appearance.

“We’re going to look at the suggestions about how the roof forms are and how to get more horizontality, and also look at using a parapet versus a mansard (roof),” McGrath said Wednesday. “We’re going to take all their comments and do more studies.”

Board member Eric Spielman said the proposed two-story, 44,000-square-foot center should blend better with City Hall; he suggested horizontal details be added in the same style as the City Hall building.

“The brick — I think it would be great if the brick matched this building so it could be viewed as an entire civic center,” Spielman said.

McGrath said the design team has contacted San Rafael’s McNear Brick and Block about having the company supply bricks for the public safety center. The bricks used at City Hall were also supplied by the brick manufacturer, she said, and the company has offered to make sample panels of brickwork that could be used for the center.

San Rafael resident Hugo Landecker said he would like to see a street pavement treatment, such as a brick pathway, that connects the public safety center to City Hall. The suggestion was received enthusiastically by all board members.

“I agree about having some type of crosswalk element that ties them together,” said Jeff Kent, vice chairman of the board. “Have the brick match (City Hall) so it looks like a part of the greater whole.”

Landecker, the only member of the public to offer comments on the center’s design, said he wants to see the building usher in more parking for the space-limited corridor. He also said the center’s roof should match that of City Hall.

Huntsberry noted that the mansard roof proposed for the center adds to the scheme’s boring design.

Kent said the proposed plan offers a solution for a center that will house multiple services.

“For the most part, I think it’s a pretty complex solution to a pretty complex compound,” he said. “With mixed use, I think there’s a lot of challenge.”

The public safety center is just one of the projects the city is considering as part of a $72 million modernization of public safety facilities.

Plans for the public safety center, expected to be completed in 2019, will return to the Design Review Board for a formal review by the end of next month. The project will then go before the Planning Commission and City Council.

“I look forward to going back in a couple of weeks and addressing the comments made and staying on schedule,” McGrath said.