Page 53 - THE FIRE STATION

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THE LOCATION

“Designing and constructing soft and pleasing artefacts!”
Philippe Samyn

CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES All vehicles need to be ready to leave the station at any time, and
incoming vehicles should not get in the way of outgoing ones.
Basing one’s design on the bottom-line concepts developed
through analysing the basic features of the site, the building Maximum headroom was also specified for the firefighting
specifications, the climate, the materials, etc., with the intention vehicles, leading to a structure featuring very large doors.
of constructing “soft and pleasing” artefacts: these are the princi-
ples underlying all Philippe Samyn projects. On the other hand, pedestrian, cycle, car and delivery access
have to be clearly separated from emergency vehicle access.
With regard to the Charleroi fire station located at the foot of the
Hiercheuses slagheap, a number of interrelated factors determined Optimising the use of a site’s space is a further fundamental
the architecture of the building and its site. objective when constructing a building in accordance with
ecological and sustainable development principles.
The building was designed for two different workforces: office staff
working there 8 hours a day, and on-duty firemen there for 24-hour A compact design minimising energy losses is a further guiding
shifts and thus requiring “residential” features. principle in achieving this sustainability.

Quick access both to the motorway and to Charleroi were further Optimal functioning must thus go hand in hand with a certain
fundamental factors determining the choice of site.The same autonomy.
access requirements applied to the building’s internal layout.
Finally, an optimal combination of natural light and artificial
To achieve maximum effectiveness, the fire brigade specified that lighting helps improve occupants’ well-being while at the
all foot routes within the building needed to be clearly mapped same time limiting energy requirements.
and that no manoeuvring of firefighting vehicles should take
place inside the building. These were thus the cornerstones determining the project.

View from the top of the slag heap before construction started.