DD Project Statement

    In its context along a developing waterfront, the Brooklyn fire station serves to increase flow between the urban and natural environments with a dynamic plaza while using solid and void to create a dialogue between the public and private uses on the site. The plaza leads from the busy street, through the fire station complex to a museum and dock at the water’s edge. The experience of moving through this space offers views of firefighters in action in the apparatus, companies in training in the education center, a historical fire truck in the main lobby, and the destination of the park with its grand view to the Manhattan skyline. Another pathway flows through the site along the west side of the fire station, offering bikers and city goers views into the fire station on one side and to the skyline of Manhattan on the other. This path provides a connection to the developing area to the north of the site. The plaza itself forms an enticing void between the fire station and fire education center, drawing in the passerbyers within the site. The two distinct buildings offer an effective division of public and private spaces for security, enhanced spatial interaction, and sustainable design. Referencing an industrial heritage, materiality is more solid facing the urban context, with dissolution of the materials toward the south sun and sloping site of the water. Offering a dynamic experience of depth through the plaza, the fire station engages public interest from the street and throughout the waterfront while maintaining a firm yet sustainable presence on the site.

Leave a Reply