This facility received a Satellite Gold Award in Firehouse's 2019 Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
For this new joint fire department and EMS station in the Onion Creek neighborhood of Austin, it was important from the beginning for the community to embrace their new civic facility. Beginning in the pre-design phase, the design team worked closely with fire department staff to evaluate the city’s existing, standard fire station floor plan and to improve upon the functionality of its design. From there, an open house was hosted to give community members the opportunity to comment on the station’s design, and to encourage their input on the architecture of their new neighbor.
In keeping with the city of Austin’s efforts to promote environmentally conscious lifestyles, the fire station is designed to be LEED Silver certified, with features such as a rainwater collection cistern, bike racks and recycling carts. It is also part of the “Art in Public Places” program, giving the design team the opportunity to work with a local artist, and resulting in a unique, fire station-themed art installation.
The new 9,812-square-foot station sleeps 16 and has three apparatus bays, one of which is a double-deep, pull-through bay. Since two separate emergency service providers, Austin Fire Department and Travis County EMS, will be calling this new station home, the station was designed to include separated sleeping areas while allowing the staff from both departments to jointly use the main common areas. The central core of the station is made up of an open-concept living/kitchen/dining area and is protected from dangerous contaminants in the apparatus bay by two air locks. Open input from the users, the owner, and even the citizens, has resulted in a one-of-a-kind station that fulfills all its users’ needs.
Architect/Firm Name: Brown Reynolds Watford Architects, Inc.
