689 – DÜREN FIRE STATION

• Architecture
• Interior design
• Structural concepts
• Building services concepts
• Fire safety

URBANISM
The mass of the building and its architectural expression aim at harmoniously blending the new Düren fire station into the town’s architectural and industrial heritage, creating a strong sense of place.
The scale of the building plays a particularly important role in this integration. The recessed upper storeys and green roofs, soften the impact of the building and contribute to the urban environment, both functionally and visually.
The drill tower is discreetly integrated into the calm massing of the complex.

DESCRIPTION
The project consists of the following elements:

1. The L-shaped building.
A thick bar runs north-south, joined by a slender bar running east-west.
On the ground floor, the 12 first departure vehicles have direct access to the Veldenerstraße. The 2nd and 3rd departure vehicles, as well as the 7 command vehicles, exit via the central courtyard. Between the two garages, just behind the vehicles, are the rooms for managing interventions. In the event of an alarm, the whole complex is accessible from the upper floors via two fireman’s poles. To the west, the double-height laundry room and joinery workshop are directly linked to the other workshops in the trapezoidal building.
The mezzanine floor in the thick bar houses the respiratory protection training course, as well as a storage area for emergency equipment. The slender bar houses the “Radio and home automation” and “Service and protective clothing” departments.
The 1st floor is the rest and living area for the guard service, with direct access to the garages via the two stairwell and lift cores, as well as the two fireman’s poles. This area includes four outdoor garden terraces. The training rooms, as well as the telecommunications room and its ancillary rooms, have “public” access via the west circulation core, and “private” access via the east core. The central corridor gives access to the garden laid out on the roof of the trapezoidal building.
The second floor houses the administration. It provides access to the roof gardens on the first floor of the thick bar and, via an external staircase, to the roof garden of the trapezoidal building.

2. The trapezoidal building.
The volunteer firefighters’ garages and mechanical workshops occupy the ground floor, around the drill tower. The mezzanine houses the volunteer firefighters’ social rooms, with a garden terrace, as well as additional storage space for the workshops. The roof is extensively planted with vegetation and includes a beach volleyball court, also accessible from the exercise yard via the drill tower staircase.

3. The exercise yard.
Framed by the two buildings, it is served by two dedicated roads linking it to the Veldenerstraße, one is reserved for the departure of emergency vehicles, to the south, and the other for their return, to the north.

4. The bicycle and car parking area.
To the north, completely separated from the flow of emergency vehicles, this tree-lined esplanade gives direct access to the slender bar of the L-shaped building, as well as to the volunteer fire brigade building.

ARCHITECTURAL OBJECTIVES
Quick and easy movement of emergency vehicles, without crossing paths.
Rational organisation of the premises to reduce the length of internal journeys while keeping the building compact.
A sense of belonging: all functions are grouped around the vast exercise yard.
Natural comfort: the narrow volumes ensure the availability of natural lighting and ventilation in all rooms.
Economy and flexibility thanks to modular dimensions (1.35 and 1.50 m modules; floor height 3.24 m), standardised components (sectional doors, etc.) and compact buildings.
Greening despite the small size of the site: garden terraces and a sports field on the roof, rows of trees around the perimeter.
Flood protection, with ramps and embankments on the west, north and east sides, and a retaining wall on the south side of the site.
Sober architectural expression without excessive demonstrations.

STRUCTURE
The structure is planned to be made of wood, a material that has a low environmental impact, takes up a similar amount of space compared to reinforced concrete and is fire-resistant.
The short spans ensure economical construction; however, a judicious layout of the load-bearing points avoids obstructing traffic around parked fire engines.

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
The aim is to turn the fire station into a positive energy building. Thermal photovoltaic panels on the roof harvest solar energy, while Darrieus-H vertical axis wind turbines capture wind energy. The living spaces on the green roofs serve as rainwater retention areas; the water is also recovered and reused. The highly insulated building envelope minimises energy losses. A geothermal heat pump provides a sustainable heating and cooling system. Recharging points for electric fire engines are also provided.

Invited competition, with Urban Agency.