This facility received a Volunteer/Combination Gold Award in Firehouse's 2020 Station Design Awards. Find the full list of winners here.
As part of a successful initiative to improve the Harris County ESD No. 7’s ISO rating to a 2 from a 3, the new Spring Fire Station No. 74 was built to provide better response coverage to the area in which it serves. Located on the same site as the previous Station No. 74, the new facility includes much-needed living accommodations for this growing combination department. To provide some consistency to volunteers who might work at multiple stations that are within the district, the new station is a site-adaptation of the recently completed Spring Fire Station No. 75.
Representing the past, present and future of the fire service, the state-of-theart station incorporates traditional architectural elements from historic fire stations with high-performing materials and a more modern building form to establish a sort of “Back to the Future” design style. A mixture of traditional materials, such as brick and stone masonry, and iconic, red four-fold doors and arched openings is a nod back to fire stations of the past. Metal panel accents add a touch of modern technology, and sweeping shed roofs and clerestory windows add a contemporary vivacity to the design.
On the interior, exposed timber and steel rod trusses and wood-looking acoustical decking add character and warmth to spaces while improving the ability to hear the call information from the alerting system. North-facing clerestory windows fill the station with natural daylight without increasing the heat load on this Houston-area facility. LED uplighting along the interior of the bay adds light to the façade at night, which creates a beacon of public safety for the community.
Architect/Firm Name: BRW Architects.
