studio i

M.Arch Studio I

Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, Carleton University,

Ottawa, Canada, 2018

Instructors:  Catherine Bonier & Ozayr Saloojee

ottawa fire services training facility

A series of gabled volumes clad in shou sugi ban cedar are designed to embrace and promote future solutions to fire safety training that respond to the changing needs of a modern society, such as technology and subterranean rescue. Housing varying levels of private and public spaces, the building provides safe, secure areas for fire training activities that border Industrial Ave and shelter the site from the high traffic environment. To foster community integration, public access such as education facilities and viewing platforms are located at the rear of the site, providing connections to the surrounding residential and commercial areas through an under-utilized hydro corridor and park space. Both interior and exterior spaces use notions of positionality, light, and threshold conditions to guide and inform the users experience.

The vernacular architecture of the 1970’s farmland surrounding the original facility no longer exists in the industrial area it sits today. The gabled profiles share the minimalistic aesthetic of the past, applied in a contemporary setting with the roof meeting the vertical cladding at a chamfered edge resulting in a modern, clean profile. The domestic form is emblematic of the strong, stable presence of the Ottawa Fire Services within the community.