Mayor Joseph L. Williams, Jr. Fire Station
The site for the new station consisted of multiple parcels previously occupied by a gas station and dry cleaner, bounded by a neighborhood commercial arterial street and residential avenues. The station, traditionally associated with the city’s university, was shifted to a central location within a historically African American neighborhood. City and fire department leadership chose to name the new station after the first African American mayor to emphasize the connection to the community. Kelly green, the traditional color of the university, was incorporated into the design to reflect the station’s history.
To fit within the existing context, it was important for the building to respond to the neighborhood commercial frontage on 20th Street, as well as the residential character of 9th Avenue. The site design was driven by the need for pull-through access for the fire apparatus, with a secure parking area to the north and a lawn area to the west, softening the transition to residential neighbors. The Architects coordinated rerouting the existing alley and associated utilities to combine the parcels and facilitate pull-through access as part of the project. The building program included a training room for the fire department’s use, which the Architects chose to locate on the 20th Street façade to provide a public face to the structure that responded to the neighborhood commercial district.
The high apparatus bay is expressed with a sloping form of warm bronze metal panels that reinforces the direction of vehicular flow as well as shading the southern facade. Soft brick tones with metal panel accents are used to clad the lower surrounding forms.
The 7,087 square foot station is designed with the firefighters’ health and wellness at the forefront. Inset glass entry vestibules on the north and south facades provide separation and serve as decontamination zones between the apparatus bays and living areas. These entry points bookend spaces housing firefighting equipment, work areas, and gear storage lockers, gear washer and dryer, which contain firefighting gear and any associated contaminants within the apparatus bays. The apparatus bay is fitted with an exhaust removal system that connects directly to the vehicle exhaust. The design of the living quarters provides individual bunk rooms and restrooms, reflecting the fire department’s priority of accommodating all genders. Designed for shifts of six, the day room, dining and kitchen area open onto a covered patio connecting to a fenced side yard. A weight room also opens onto the patio to provide indoor/outdoor exercise options.
The station is served by an air cooled Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) system consisting of a centralized heat pump unit, indoor wall units and ceiling cassettes, The ability to simultaneously heat or cool gives each fire fighters quarters their own thermostatic control. This building is also equipped with an 58KW photovoltaic solar array.