Through several client engagements with the City of San Antonio Fire Department, we explored strategies to create authentic architecture with basic, durable materials and construction methods. As expected in a municipal project, we worked with the City to manage construction cost, long term maintenance, and programmatic requirements inherent in the building type. Knowledge gained in this early group of successful fire station projects formed the basis for a set of design standards and specifications we developed with city staff at the CoSA Fire Department.
Based on the typology we had evolved through innovative design of a small group of new fire stations, and tapping into department’s institutional knowledge, we led development of the Fire Station Design Standards with the Capital Improvements Management Services and the Fire Department. The Standards included sustainability goals for future City fire stations in six key areas:
The Standards take into consideration the logistics of various functions, including housing of individuals with diverse work requirements and schedules, equipment and vehicle storage, administrative and training services, occasional community education and interaction, and frequently, provision of on-site emergency services. The two-volume document, nearly 600 pages in total, collects a wealth of institutional knowledge and establishes a benchmark of best practices.
Within the new standards, we also accommodate the San Antonio Fire Department’s stated good-neighbor goals, fitting into its many diverse neighborhoods. To respect the individual contexts of a given surrounding service area, the standards address the appropriate use of scale, selection of materials, and the importance of quality architectural design. The comprehensive documentation helps the City to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds, through cost-effective use of resources and by producing viable, livable and functional structures with a foreseeable lifespan of up to fifty years.
Combined with the Fire Department’s many collective years of experience; the Fire Department Standards are effective guardrails to keep design of new stations focused on public safety priorities and value to community. By providing for change due to growth, technological improvements, mission enhancements, this comprehensive yet flexible set of standards has been foundational to the Fire Department’s growth for 15 years and counting.
CLIENT | City of San Antonio
COMPLETION | January 2010
DELIVERABLE | Design Standards, Vols. 1 and 2
