Fire Station 39
Sharing the street with the Lake City Community Center and Public Library, Fire Station 39 establishes itself as a friendly neighbor, firefighter refuge and a responsive hero in times of trouble.
In collaboration with the city of Seattle, Fire Station 39 and the community, the design team created a local icon of safety and sanctuary. Replacing the existing 1949 station, the new 11,000-square-foot station consists of an enclosed yard and second floor terrace to provide respite following emergency response activities. With sustainability as a major design influence, abundant day lighting and view windows are placed for site orientation, while buffering the occupant from disruptive exterior activity. Acoustic insulated wall assemblies throughout the building provide a quiet working and living environment. The project is LEED Gold certified.
To unite these community buildings and the community at large, 28th Avenue — the corridor in which the projects are located — became a "green street" and includes walking and bicycle pathways, trees and improved lighting. Furthermore, as a city of Seattle civic project, additional funds for public art were allocated for the project. The artist, Stephen Glassman, designed a galvanized metal structure which receives stormwater runoff from the roof and transports it to a large cistern below grade under the entry landscaping. This cistern has the capacity to store over 7,000 gallons of rainwater which are used to flush the toilets in the building. If the cistern fills up, excess rainwater spills into the raingarden along the south edge of the building. The rain garden, as well as the bioswale along the west edge of the site, is bordered by former granite curbstones which were made available to the project by Seattle’s Department of Transportation. The same granite curbs are also used as seating in the backyard area and their new use represents a fine example of the sustainable spirit of this civic project.