As civic buildings, fire stations find themselves in the unusual role of being highly functional, technical buildings embedded in residential communities. The vision for Windermere Fire Station takes cues from the past: the iconic characteristics of a pitched roof, large fire truck doors, and solid load-bearing walls. But the contemporary fire station also carries a new imperative for sustainable citizenship that has implications for the building’s form, orientation and image.
Windermere Fire Station #31
Fire Station 31 will serve a new community in Southwest Edmonton, bordered by the North Saskatchewan River and the Whitemud Creek Ravine. The community of Windermere aims to exemplify the careful integration of the natural and built environments. The City of Edmonton has taken a leadership role by requiring the fire station to obtain LEED Silver certification, meet 40 percent better energy efficiency and 40 percent better greenhouse gas emissions than NECB 2011, and achieve 80 kilowatt-hours per square metre per year for heating needs. In addition, the project is also a pilot to investigate if achieving net-zero energy on an emergency response fire hall is feasible. The study will consider viability by looking at energy use, operational needs and budget considerations. To achieve net-zero, the south-facing roof is clad with photovoltaic cells. Windermere Fire Station #31
The roof is optimized for solar generation capacity, generating the shape of the building. While t...