Qian'nan Fire Station Caserma dei Vigili del Fuoco

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The site is surrounded by hills on three sides and gently sloping towards a small river, with a stone bridge connecting the site to the city road. The design is based on the topography of the site and establishes two grids of site order, organising the space in the same way as the local settlement space, i.e. forming continuous courtyards in groups of units, transforming the residential space into an urban public space, maintaining the character of the local place and establishing a public courtyard space. The red and white materials show the professional character of fire and rescue, and the azalea, symbolising the blooming of the mountains, praises the honour of the profession.

Dimensions & Packaging

Area surface: 96611.35 sqm
Building surface: 27728.58 sqm
Building max height: 23 m

Tags

West-line studio, Fire and rescue, Professional honours, Red and white, Continuous courtyard, Skylight, Cluster, Unit function group

Production Technology

Concrete frame construction，
Red split brick: Matte, Dark red tones, Specification220*100*20
White flexible stone: Specification900*450，For large white walls
White exterior paint: for white lines.
White frosted insulating glass: mainly used in partial facade windows and skylights.

Design Challenge

The traditional way of building settlements is a wise response to the complex mountain environment, the core of which is the strategy of unit formation. How to combine the modern functional grouping of firefighting with the unit-formation strategy of the settlement to create a modern functional settlement with a local character is a study with place significance. Not only does this design give a romantic poetic symbolism to the occupation.

Research

The "Western Front Studio" has been focusing on the basic working model - geopolitical order/community model/spirit of place/composite construction. It has been established to facilitate the maintenance of the original state of geographical space and the stable expression of emotions. It even contributes to the realisation of a structure where order of place and spirit of place co-exist in the context of contemporary universal society, thus effectively preserving the humanity of the rural habitat and seeking ways to reconstruct the public life of rural society in the context of a dualistic social structure (universality + proximity). The architects have combined the traditional settlement with the order of place in the mountains to create a new communal settlement, while establishing the basic facilities for firefighting and rescue and giving it a noble professional symbolism.

Inspiration

The project is located in a mountainous area of karstic peaks, where there are many traditional settlements of ancient aquatic communities. The design has been inspired by the settlements: transforming the traditional settlement habitat into a public space with an urban function, maintaining the local identity and creating a lively modern space, the design defines a modern 'settlement' group space with a fire and rescue professional identity.

Project Duration

Design. june 2016 - october 2016
Location: Guiyang Guizhou Province, China
Construction. March 2018 - May 2020
Location: Datang County, Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China

Operation Flow

The building's core function is firefighting and rescue, with offices, training, training and logistics forming an occupational complex. The continuous open courtyard and the functional organisation of the clusters provide the atmosphere of a local settlement. The internal spaces create a vivid simplicity with light from the patio skylights, while the external red leaps and horizontal sprawl convey the poetic intent of blooming flowers.

Patents

West-line Studio

Image Credits

West-line Studio Haobo Wei Jingsong Xie