The People’s Firehouse used to stand as a beacon to the people Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. Given the opportunity to breathe life back into this once beloved organization, I designed a project that acknowledges the fateful and charged past, with the new and exciting future. Using materials as the main tool to illustrate this concept, one wing of the firehouse is built in the historic, red brick style genre, popular in Brooklyn, New York. The other wing resembles the shiny new apartment buildings making their homes on the banks of the rivers. Where the two wings meet, a tall tower of eighty feet rises, illustrating how the past and presents styles can collide and knit cohesively into one entity. Within the tower, the space is sculptural and unique only to this particular firehouse. Within each wing, there is a specific organizing grid to define the spaces within. The tower benefits from the meeting of both organizing grids, furthering the message of collision and the two wings working together as one. The red brick wing contains most living spaces, while the glass wing is reserved for fire company activities. The organization of the buildings on the site form a frame that naturally encourages both firemen and other building users to migrate to the water. Along the water is a boardwalk like path, sprinkled with several terraces, used for both relaxation or social events if necessary.

Photo Credit: Caroline Wilson