The site for the fire house lies between three orthogonally gridded neighborhoods in Greenpoint, New York.  When the avenues of the neighborhoods extend outwards they cross and form triangles.  This triangular shape acts as a cutter that divides up the square building and forms the entrance and pathways through the complex/site as well as a central courtyard.  This courtyard is a space for the community to come together to support the firehouse and each other, reviving the spirit of what the old 212 Engine Company stood for.

The fire house is divided into three buildings, one for living, working, and an educational center.  They are kept separate to allow firefighters to live comfortably, away from work, but still be in close proximity in case a call comes it.  The perimeter of the complex is made of masonry not only to convey the image of a traditional fire house but also create a secure feeling when inside.  The trusses for the roof are sloped inwards towards the courtyard to signify the importance of that space and also sections of the roof will be glass to let light deep into the building.  The walls facing the courtyard are glass curtain walls so all three buildings feel as though they are one, creating a blurred inside and outside connection.  The idea of this design is to reestablish a connection with the community by creating a place where they can interact with each other and the fire company.

Photo: CREO ARKITEKTER A/S and WE Architecture

Located on the site in Brooklyn, NY, stands a long, low bus-washing building. It occupies the riverfront, facing the Manhattan skyline, and straddles a line between old industry and modern residences. Its scale and lack of specificity lends itself to adaptive reuse as a fire station.

The overall geometry of the building is a rectangle with a corner missing. I filled in the corner with the apparatus bay, completing the rectangle with a material that contrasts with the existing brick facade. After this move, I took put down a layer of history. By extending a road that, historically, once ran through the site, I created a throughway to the park. Also, the geometry of the landscape was informed by taking cues from the historic shoreline.

The facade of the existing building is treated a blank canvas, where the necessary openings are cut without regard for the existing condition to suit the new uses. The holes from the existing building are filled with a contrasting material like concrete and ceramic tiles. Most of the structure is existing from the old building but a new structure is introduced to support the new apparatus bay which further ties the old and new together.

The rest of the program is broken up into public and private areas. The public areas are located closer to the apparatus bay. The private areas are elevated from the ground and separated from the public by the throughway. On the far side of the building is the Monitor museum. A large, leftover space was then given back to the public to be used differently each season.

Addressing the sloping topography found on the shoreline surrounding our site is the main concept behind the new Brooklyn fire station design proposal. To achieve this, I created a sloping roof intended to cover the fire station by studying the principles of the Geodesic dome by Buckminster Fuller. Its complex structure is composed by a series of triangles coming together creating an arch-like roof gently touching the ground.

The sloping roof rests on top of the Apparatus bay, public spaces, and living/shared spaces. This new move eliminated most of the columns the Apparatus bay was housing and ties together the programs within creating expansive openness. However, the grid-shell roof is not covering the residential area, but its geometry replicates the triangular shapes found on the roof. This creates a non-physical connection with the roof. Moreover, by not having the residential areas within the roof structure, allow its habitants to enjoy the marvelous views of NYC from their bedrooms.

While this unique roof structure eliminates the many of the columns a buildings of this size would need to have, I still created five tree-like columns that will delicately touch the roof providing extra support and security. A 3ft in diameter column base and 6 – 1ft in diameter branches that will meet with the roof structure compose the columns. The columns are throughout the firehouse, having 3 on the apparatus bay, and 2 on the living/public spaces.

By having a peculiar feature such as the roof, the fire station creates an unusual experience from passer-by and those inhabiting the building as well, pushing them to explore the building from inside out.

Photo & Architecture by WilkinsonEyre Architects