Structure, place, activity,
second year bachelor project 1
autumn 2012 (10 weeks)
Project.
A fire station on Timmermansgatan in Stockholm. Using a preset program combined with a public sports gym.
Site.
A city block in central Stockholm being redevelopment, with good access / infrastructure. What was intriguing, was the state of the buildings being torn down. They had a strange kind of "mortality" I hadn't sensed in architecture earlier. We weren't allowed inside these buildings during the first visit.
Our guide believed in as few floors as possible, using space optimally and making due with existing potential. Contaminates from fires stick on the firetrucks and can subsequently spread to the station, washing the fire trucks is a legal obligation. The garage bay is the heart of the station, all areas connect to it.
I came back at night and climbed into to one half demolished building. Inside, exposed beams, cracked walls and partial rooms sparked inspiration. All my senses where on edge, the tiniest sound or a light flicker made my heart race. Unsure if the floor would support my weight and with a small fear of getting caught.
When I climbed outside again a great calm came over me. Standing on stable ground, under cover of darkness. On every side of the site rose a wall of city lights, but they felt distant and faint.
Process.
Case study of two buildings (Kulturhuset and Riksbanken in Stockholm) with at opposing aesthetics. One was mostly horizontal while the other was purely vertical. This was later abstracted into physical models, that came to influence the project more then I expected.
There was one early sketch that haunted the whole process. A valuable lesson about not getting attached to a specific form. The project was a process of fitting everything that I needed for the station to function, into that early sketch.
Program.
Deconstructing a fire station into garage bay / washing of trucks / work area, service / kitchen / living area / bedrooms / relax area / offices / gym / general services.
Then regroup and experiment with these pieces to refine the area which they depended on. Combining the decontamination of trucks with the garage bay, making it possible to drive through. Dispatch gear should also be in the garage to optimise time.
I also wanted to play with composition of floors and ways to divide them. The form of the new building should portray the different elements of the station, all converging on the garage / changing room.
With a "drive through" principle, the trucks pull in, get washed (cleaned form hazardous contaminates) and continue through the station, parking diagonally in wait for the next emergency.
The fire fighter's living quarters are configured in terraced levels around the garage bay. Showers / sauna / washroom and service area are located beneath the garage bay.
The sleeping quarters connect the sub floor with the garage bay. Two beds in each room. This floor is partially under ground, letting in day light via openings in the ceiling.
Living area and kitchen are located above the bedrooms. Open spaces with large windows facing west (away from the street).
Offices are separated from the station, on the second floor. The third floor houses gyms (public and private).
The facade is plain, clad with plates of white plaster. Matt and coarse almost like sandpaper, the primary construction is steel in a rather complex composition. The constructional structure is exposed in certain spots. The two vertical "boxes" (housing both a training facility and public gym) only have three support points to stand on, to circumvent the need for support pillars inside the garage bay. The fire station materiality should blend in among the neighbouring buildings.
