Is your department growing or is your station at the end of its useful life? Perhaps someone is offering you the deal of a lifetime on a piece of land? Do you desperately need a new ladder truck or heavy rescue, but find that it won’t fit into your existing bays? Do you have questions about site location or layout, response planning, operational layouts, or do you want a second opinion on some of your building and design ideas?
Maybe you’ve visited other departments in the area or see others getting additions, renovations or even a new firehouse. After speaking with some of these colleagues, you keep hearing a similar piece of advice: "seek out a qualified architect." That sounds easy, but you don’t know where to look for a qualified architect, how to start the process or what that the design and construction process really entails.
Before engaging an architect, you should be prepared to answer some basic questions:
- Do we have the right site?
- How big a piece of property do we need?
- How big should the station be?
- What are current trends we should be aware of?
- How do we control costs?
- How do we reach our members and the community for support?
There are many more questions and if you have already started the design process and want a "gut check" at some point in the process, or maybe you have a design in hand and want a second opinion, there's an answer.
Many of these answers can be found at a unique opportunity that occurs every year at the Station Design Conference. It’s known as the “One-on-1” and takes place the day before the formal conference begins. This unique format presents a chance for you and your committee members to engage a highly qualified fire station architect, often from different parts of the country. For over 10 years, these architects have presented a program highlighting current and new trends in firehouse design, funding and construction. Firm partners and project managers will personally review and discuss your project at any stage of land acquisition, feasibility, design or construction. You will receive focused, professional advice based on where you are in the process, with input and recommendations on how best to proceed.
The four firms are: Pacheco Ross Architects, Voorheesville, NY; TCA, Seattle, WA, Lemay Erickson Willcox Architects, Reston, VA and JKA, San Diego, CA—each bring specific firehouse design expertise and the combined experience of working on over 400 firehouses in 30-plus states and Canada.
We leverage this considerable knowledge to guide you through the design process, answer your specific questions and focus on the issues important to you. One of the greatest strengths of the One-on-1 program is the entirely objective nature of each consult. The four firms are dedicated to helping fire departments, look at problems and issues and offer constructive advice with professional recommendations. It is a chance for these architects to help develop a more informed client base. That in turn helps clients make more informed decisions and can guide them when selecting a qualified architect or proceeding with their project.
The One-on-1 program provides a short, pertinent program on design trends, then breaks into groups to advise and consult directly with you. If you are not directly involved with a consult, others often invite you to sit in on their session to hear about similar situations. It’s a great chance to meet with other municipalities, departments or companies with similar projects, questions and ideas. This type of collaboration will allow you to develop contacts and relationships with others so your process doesn’t stop after the conference. We also run interactive programs highlighting case studies, current design trends and other focused design and construction topics.
Perhaps some of the most telling comments come from past attendees.
- “We came to get a shift in perspective from the other side of the country.”
- “We wanted validation of what we were doing, but left saying, we never considered that.”
- “This was a chance to sit with other departments and hear what issues they face on their project and learn from those who are further along in the process.”
One of the more common topics and issues revolve around project budgets. “How can we get more for less, are we maximizing the design, what method of construction should we use and why?” Another interesting aspect of the One-on-1; almost every attendee gathers up sketches, notes and diagrams to take home and share with others in their department.
If you want to spend a highly productive, intensive day, focused on your issues, we invite you to attend the One-on-1 program, May 3, 2017, in Fort Worth, TX. While we can’t give you a firehouse design in a day, we know you will hear ideas and concepts you may not have considered and probably one or two out-of-the-box suggestions that can help you with your issues.
