Winner: JUNGMIN NAM, AIA
Award: Honor Award for Architecture
119 fire station as a space for living; from vehicle-centric to people-centric
The “Gangil 119 Fire Station” is a new fire station located in Gangil, a newly developed area following the Seoul city’s urban design plan at the eastern end of the city. Even though fire station building types are commonly dominated by the huge garages, from the existing fire station study, we found that there are overlooked but very urgent needs for better living space for firefighters. By questioning more relevant types for fire stations in contemporary time, we tried to reframe “Gangil 119 Fire Station” as a human-centered building, suggesting new identity for fire stations.
After studying required programs for fire stations, we found that only 35% of the total area is for the direct training-related facilities including the garages, while over 65% of the remaining area is dedicated for the firefighters’ daily work and live spaces such as standby rooms, rest rooms, dining room, offices, etc. Facing this reality, we tried to design “Gangil 119 Fire Station” with human living conditions at its center. The courtyard is placed as a main space to bring light and breeze in the middle of the everyday living area, by serving as a bridge between the space for fire engines and firefighters.
In the “Gangil 119 Fire Station” firefighters can breathe and enjoy nature in their everyday life from the ground level, the 2nd floor living area and up to the roof areas; with the courtyard and various outdoor terraces at different levels. With this living qualities, the small individual spaces of the daily lives are gathered collectively to give a clustered identity to a single building by presenting the new identity of the fire station in Seoul.
