Unfolded Fire Station

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Unfolded Fire Station

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Type

Government + Health › Fire/Police/Military

In this project, we were asked to design an annex to an existing fire station in Berkeley, CA using the form of the fire engine as a catalyst for design. This building would house an additional fire engine, but more importantly, it would also serve as a public museum. When I began analyzing the fire engine, I was intrigued by its skin, so I started unfolding each of the surfaces. I found the process of unfolding to be especially interesting because it exposes interior space that was previously hidden. When placing my project in the site, I used the exact same logic that I had used with the fire engine. I first unfolded each of the buildings that bordered our site, and then I re-folded those individual surfaces in a new manner so that they would all fit within the site boundaries. In certain locations, I created new cuts and folds within a surface in order to make all spaces accessible (i.e. ramps and doors). Since I created the building through such a dynamic process, I did not want to lose the power of the fold. Therefore, certain surfaces still move according to a logic based on weather conditions and exhibition requirements. For example, if it’s cold and rainy outside, the building ‘closes up’ to protect visitors from the elements.

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Caitlin Alev

Designer - Student Project

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Unfolded Fire Station

Unfolded Fire Station

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Team