Southern Shores Fire Department Headquarters
Square Footage
13,453
Project Description
The new facility for the Southern Shores Fire/Rescue Station #12 was an on-site replacement of the department’s original station which was demolished as part of this project. The design intent of the new station was to capture the essence of this coastal community with its deep overhangs, soffit brackets and Bahama shutters while taking inspiration for the exterior color palette from the neighboring elementary school to maintain a cohesive aesthetic in the area. “Public meetings” were utilized for gaining public input and consensus for the project during the early design phase.
Some of the challenges we encountered on the project were the limited size of the site (given the program requirements), flood elevation and building height restrictions. By carefully managing the wall heights and roof pitches, we balanced raising the finish floor elevation to meet the town’s freeboard ordinance while still adhering to town’s building height restrictions. With close coordination by Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, the project engineers and the Fire Department’s engineers, we placed the building, parking, driveways, onsite wastewater system and underground storm drainage system within the property’s allowable limits in a well-organized layout.
The facility provides staff offices, workroom/EOC, training room for public and private use, public restrooms, 3 sleeping rooms, 2 individual staff shower rooms and a physical training room. The kitchen was designed with the amenities of a commercial kitchen and to allow the department room for future growth. Space has been allocated for the addition of a third refrigerator and a second range when required to meet the future needs of the department. The porcelain tile floor finish selected for the main corridor, kitchen and lobby were selected to withstand the harsh elements of this coastal area. The facility provides a comfortable dayroom adjacent to the kitchen for the crew members to unwind, a large kitchen with table and island seating and an outdoor patio off of the kitchen for grilling and outdoor seating.
Other, more utilitarian components of the station include a decontamination room, a tool shop, a meds storage room, and a training mezzanine. All with direct access to the apparatus bays. The building is also protected by a natural gas generator backup-power system. This station was built to have a lifetime of seventy-five years. The interior of the building is separated into zones to mitigate contamination from carcinogens. The apparatus bays are the hot zone, the decontamination/support spaces are the transition zone and living/office area is the cold zone. Each zone is separated from the other with full height walls with sealed penetrations and separate mechanical systems.
Our Involvement
Square Footage
13,453
Project Description
The new facility for the Southern Shores Fire/Rescue Station #12 was an on-site replacement of the department’s original station which was demolished as part of this project. The design intent of the new station was to capture the essence of this coastal community with its deep overhangs, soffit brackets and Bahama shutters while taking inspiration for the exterior color palette from the neighboring elementary school to maintain a cohesive aesthetic in the area. “Public meetings” were utilized for gaining public input and consensus for the project during the early design phase.
Some of the challenges we encountered on the project were the limited size of the site (given the program requirements), flood elevation and building height restrictions. By carefully managing the wall heights and roof pitches, we balanced raising the finish floor elevation to meet the town’s freeboard ordinance while still adhering to town’s building height restrictions. With close coordination by Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, the project engineers and the Fire Department’s engineers, we placed the building, parking, driveways, onsite wastewater system and underground storm drainage system within the property’s allowable limits in a well-organized layout.
The facility provides staff offices, workroom/EOC, training room for public and private use, public restrooms, 3 sleeping rooms, 2 individual staff shower rooms and a physical training room. The kitchen was designed with the amenities of a commercial kitchen and to allow the department room for future growth. Space has been allocated for the addition of a third refrigerator and a second range when required to meet the future needs of the department. The porcelain tile floor finish selected for the main corridor, kitchen and lobby were selected to withstand the harsh elements of this coastal area. The facility provides a comfortable dayroom adjacent to the kitchen for the crew members to unwind, a large kitchen with table and island seating and an outdoor patio off of the kitchen for grilling and outdoor seating.
Other, more utilitarian components of the station include a decontamination room, a tool shop, a meds storage room, and a training mezzanine. All with direct access to the apparatus bays. The building is also protected by a natural gas generator backup-power system. This station was built to have a lifetime of seventy-five years. The interior of the building is separated into zones to mitigate contamination from carcinogens. The apparatus bays are the hot zone, the decontamination/support spaces are the transition zone and living/office area is the cold zone. Each zone is separated from the other with full height walls with sealed penetrations and separate mechanical systems.