Fire Station and Apartments

Conceived around a U-shaped drill yard that maximizes efficient circulation, this fire station's base is two storeys high and enclosed on three sides. The ground floor houses all of the technical aspects of the programme: garages, spaces for vehicle maintenance and the command centre; the first floor is occupied by a restaurant, a gym, and spaces to relax and unwind. A six-storey linear building divided into thirty family housing units sits atop this volume. These apartments appear at once as a homogeneous and compact mass and as a field of changing reflections that pass across the aluminium surface gilded in metallic copper. The result is an enormous glistening block that seems to hang in mid air, catching the light and vibrating as if a mirage has settled in the midst of a chaotic landscape. By contrast, the matte black asphalt surface of the yard and drill tower take on the appearance of scorched earth, a silent landscape held within a precious box.