Fire Station 76
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District #10
In its simplest form, a fire station comprises little more than a dwelling with an oversized garage. At its most complex, it embodies the values of its community and functions as a highly technical machine for emergency response. Infusing those aspirations with aspects of storytelling and local context inspired our design effort.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District #10 was overdue for a station that reflected community values and embodied the local context. The existing facility was undersized, outdated, falling apart, and in need of replacement. Located across from the old station, the rural, five-acre site presented a place for a new fire station and allowed planning for a future training facility.
SITE ACCESS ANALYSIS
Unique site conditions, operational considerations, and emergency response requirements influenced placement and design of the building.
Fire apparatus
Fire crew
Public
INSPIRATION
Fire Station 76 serves an open landscape of family farms and nurseries. The simplicity of local agrarian vernacular, textured with materials of practicality – primarily wood and metal – informed massing and materials of the new station design.
The evident beauty of the surrounding rural environment, patterned fields, and views of the Cascade mountains, suffused with quietly formed agricultural buildings, inspired the concept for the new Fire Station 76. The design layers subtle rural characteristics of the surrounding area over the distinct functions of living and working.
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
Functionally, the design solution divides the facility into two juxtaposing masses: a vaulted apparatus bay featuring exposed glulam arches and a conventionallyframed living quarters emphasized by dark wood siding on the exterior. Carved out voids of warm-toned wood siding continue to the interior, blending the inside and outside through material continuity.
The functional focus of the station, fire – an element of both beauty and destruction – guided the treatment of materials. Using reclaimed timber from a nearby barn, the design included a traditional Japanese charring technique, Shou Sugi Ban. This technique goes deeper than a surface char, and is known as “alligator char” named for the animal’s skin–like texture created on the wood. Providing approximately an 1/8” layer of char, the technique preserves the wood, and requires little to no maintenance going forward, extending the life of the material. In effect, the burn provides protection from moisture, fire, decay, and insects, and transforms the destructive manner of fire into a striking image of protection and beauty, creating a structure suffused with meaning.
SITE PLAN
The station is rotated slightly, presenting the most recognizable feature of a fire station – the fire apparatus – to the public, while capturing views of the Cascade Mountains from the living quarters, protecting outdoor spaces from winds, and providing a sanctuary for the crew.
LEGEND
1 Apparatus Bay
2 Living Quarters
Concept rendering of living quarters
WOOD CONSTRUCTION
The apparatus bay is highlighted by exposed, 27-foottall glulam Tudor-style arches, glulam roof framing, and tongue-and-groove structural wood decking. The glulam arches serve as part of the primary structural frame and were designed to resist vertical and lateral loads with additional structural safety factors required for Essential Facilities under the Oregon Structural Specialty Code (Building Code). Structural connections at exposed glulam roof members and decking are concealed from view. Tudor arches were selected as an efficient solution to maintain open spaces and high clearances within the apparatus bay without additional support framing, deeper trusses, or interior columns.
BUILDING FORM & FUNCTION
Fire Station 76 embraces fire, turning it into a feature of protection and beauty. It provides a legacy for the rural community, reflecting its context in both massing and materials, and honors the fire apparatus as technical machines for emergency response.
CONTRASTS
Clad in dark, reclaimed Douglas fir timbers that were milled into siding then charred, the long, linear form of the living quarters rotates to face the Cascade Mountains. Western Red Cedar-clad porches carve into the living quarters, sheltering public and social exterior spaces from weather. The cedar continues into the building interior, surrounding the primary gathering space of the living quarters. In contrast, light gray metal standingseam siding wraps the apparatus bay.
DETAILS
1 The hardened layer of textured black char protects the wood, turning the destructive manner of fire into an image of protection and beauty.
2 Natural wood abuts charred wood.
3 A live-edge walnut table, highlighting the station 76 emblem, serves as a central gathering space for the crew.
4 Natural daylight washes the living and working spaces, highlighting warm wood tones.
OWNER
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District #10 Board Chair: Dr. Mike McKeel
Gresham Fire and Rescue: Division Chief Scott Lewis
Member of the District #10 Board and Portland Fire and Rescue: Dave Keller
HENNEBERY EDDY ARCHITECTS
Principal-in-Charge: Michelle Vo, AIA
Project Manager: Ian Gelbrich, AIA
Project Architect: Camilla Cok, AIA
Interior Designer: Elyse Iverson, NCIDQ
Project Team: Alexander Lungershausen, AIA
CONSULTANTS
Civil: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Landscape: Otten Landscape Architects
Structural: Nishkian Dean Structural Engineers
Mechanical: Interface Engineering
Electrical: Interface Engineering
Plumbing: Interface Engineering
CONTRACTOR
Bremik Construction, Inc.
Photography: Josh Partee Photography
Client: Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District #10
Wood Design and Building Award, Canadian Wood
Top Projects, Public Service Category, Daily Journal of
Merit Award, AIA Northwest and Pacific Region, 2016
