HORNBY ISLAND FIRE HALL
THE WEST ELEVATION. A COMMUNITY REFERENDUM AND OPEN-HOUSE WORKSHOPS WERE HELD TO GATHER PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT THE BUILDING DESIGN, SUCH AS THE NEED FOR MORE TRUCK BAYS TO IMPROVE RESPONSE TIMES, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY’S RESILIENCY.
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Public input leads to resilient construction, low operating costs Built to replace the existing 2.5-acre site structure, the new 7,500 sq ft, civic/institutional facility consists of a single-storey fire truck apparatus bay and a two-storey fire hall. The project is built to LEED Silver equivalency and Passive House standards. By Simcic + Uhrich Architects
Reaching Hornby Island requires two ferry rides from Vancouver Island, making access for construction crews and service technicians difficult and expensive. The team thus opted to use simple, low-maintenance systems due to the project location. The most visible Passive House principles are approaches to building orientation, and high-performance glazing systems. The building was positioned for optimal solar orientation: southfacing windows for natural daylight and heat in winter, and overhangs and glazing for shade in summer.
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SPRING 2019 | BC FOCUS
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Site Plan N 1. Bio swale 2. Concrete apron 3. Fire truck apparatus bays
4. Fire hall 5. Landscaping 6. Parking
Prefabricated insulated wall panels, produced by Collective Carpentry, ensure the delivery of the required airtightness and insulation values, and also minimized the construction schedule and number of construction crews on the remote site. Other passive design strategies include radiant in-floor heating in the apparatus bays, Passive House certified heat recovery ventilators transferring heat from exhaust air to intake air, and rainwater harvesting.