Station Design Honor Awards Program

Read the full article: A Model Station: F.I.E.R.O.'s Fire Station Design Symposium

New to the F.I.E.R.O. Fire Station Design Symposium this year: the fire station design awards program, which recognizes innovative and efficient project designs. Out of 39 entries from 22 architecture firms, 16 awards were given: 3 Honor Awards, 6 Merit Awards and 7 Recognition Awards. Jury Chairman Don Collins notes that all three Honor Award-winning designs were agreed upon by all five jury members—John Antonucci, Brad Kobielusz, Jim Zwerg, Blake Redden and Don Collins. Following is a look at the three Honor-Award-winning designs.

View a list of the Merit and Recognition Award-winning designs

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Honor Award Winners

Spokane Fire Station No. 4, Spokane, Wash.
Architect: Denny Christenson & Associates, Spokane, Wash.
Project Area: 12,817 square feet
Cost: $2,190,000
Completion Date: Spring 2005

Kobielusz, a training captain at the Poudre ( Colo. ) Fire Authority and a licensed architect in Wyoming , notes that many of the designs that won demonstrated a good solution to a difficult problem. Spokane Fire Station No. 4 was no exception, as the station was built on a small, circular piece of surplus property provided by the city of Spokane that is virtually surrounded by roadway, creating a serious space-constraint issue. “We were very impressed with their ability to use a site that most organizations would have thrown away,” Kobielusz says. “They came up with an extremely clever design solution that maximized the space.” Collins adds: “When you look at the floorplan, it’s very direct and, for the most part, it loads from the back, giving the station a good flow.”

Also, jurors agreed that the station did a good job referencing historical firehouses in the Northwest.

IMAGE COURTESY DENNY CHRISTENSON & ASSOCIATES

Denny Christenson of Denny Christenson & Associates notes that this station is located at the entry to a part of Spokane known as Brown’s Addition, which has more historic homes than any other part of the city. “We wanted to tie the building design into the finer architecture in the neighborhood and enhance the entrance to Brown’s Addition,” he says, adding that the firefighters at Station 4 are very proud of the station, namely because they were actively involved in the station design process.

View more images of Spokane (Wash.) Fire Station No. 4

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Lincolnton Fire Department HQ (and City hall), Lincolnton , N.C.
Architect: Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, Gastonia , N.C.
Project Area: 17,589 square feet (renovations); 12,503 square feet (new construction)
Cost: $3,866,499
Completion Date: April 2006

Before

After

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PHOTOS COURTESY STEWART-COOPER-NEWELL ARCHITECTS

The Lincolnton (N.C.) Fire Department Headquarters was a unique project because of the need to marry the fire headquarters with the city hall building, which were separated not only by land, but by elevation (see the Before and After photos, p. 52). “I can’t even believe it’s the same building,” Collins says. “It’s one of those sites that most architects would say, ‘Let’s start over somewhere else.’” Another positive design element: The façade offers continuity, but the city hall part stands out while the fire department part is more subdued. “This draws people to the city hall area,” Kobielusz explains. “You want people to recognize it as a fire station, but you don’t want the public flocking into the fire station when they’re looking for city hall.”

On this note, Ken Newell of Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects explains that combining a very public space like city hall with an emergency space like the fire department took a lot of effort to make sure they remained separate where appropriate. Also, the firm used the addition that would connect the buildings to help create a more defined public entrance, and they built a new façade on the entire structure to pick up the historical flavor of Lincolnton.

View more images of Lincolnton (N.C.) Fire Department Headquarters

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Waukesha Fire Station no. 1, Waukesha , Wis.
Architect of Record: Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee , Wis.
Planning & Design Consultants: Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, Gastonia , N.C.
Project Size: 27,665 square feet
Cost: $3,999,500

Projected Completion Date: Winter 2006

Waukesha ( Wis.) Fire Station No. 1, which is set to open this winter, features a large red wall with the No. 1 on it, and the apparatus bays are very visible to the public. “The one thing this station does more than any other is it proclaims itself a fire station,” Kobielusz says. Newell of Stewart-Cooper-Newell notes that the station faces a pedestrian walkway and, as such, the architects wanted the station to be attractive and inviting. “It’s more visible than the average station so we wanted to show that it’s proud to be a fire station,” he says

Another great feature: the exercise room. “We saw many exercise rooms tucked in basements,” Kobielusz says. “This station dedicates a large area to an exercise room. It’s a nice area that provides an incentive for working out.”

Collins adds that for a compact site, the station is well organized and flows. In the sleep areas, he adds, there are three lockers in each room (one for each shift), and everyone has exactly the same bed arrangements with the exception of the officers’ rooms. “This keeps up morale at the station because no one gets a better room than someone else,” he says.

IMAGE COURTESY PLUNKETT RAYSICH ARCHITECTS

View more photos of Waukesha (Wis.) Fire Station No. 1