For the first time in the five years of the Fire Station Design Awards, the judges presented an Overall Outstanding Award. The Sky Harbor Center Phoenix Fire Station #16 was submitted by Lawrence Enyart, president of LEA — Architects LLC. Established in 1975, LEA is a professional design firm specializing in sustainable architecture, planning, interiors and construction management. Enyart was the principal architect on 15 Phoenix fire stations.

How did Sky Harbor Center Phoenix Fire Station #16 come about?

LEA — Architects started in the year 2000 to design one very large station at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to serve the whole airport. After looking at the airport context, response times and its growth potential, it was decided by Phoenix to have my firm design three separate smaller stations…. ARFF Station 19 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport has seven crash rescue bays; Station 29 contains six bays with three crash-rescue and three structural/EMS. In 2003 we were commissioned to design a station contiguous to the airport and part of the family of airport stations. The new Phoenix Sky Harbor Center Station #16 has three bays for structural/EMS and a future ARFF mission. Aircraft jet noise and compressed sites were a challenge for all three projects.

The look of this station is very non-traditional.

The design of this station is a progressive modern design influenced to a great extent by aviation forms. Special design attention and sound suppression materials had to be made for the jet aircraft noise…. The building relates to the design context of the airport and other stations we did; it's a contemporary, high-tech building and reflects the high-tech equipment in and around its environment. The station is compressed and very functional because we design a station with the philosophy that “just a few seconds” really does count. We avoid laying out a building that is a navigational quagmire; you must have a floor plan that is direct and know for sure that it contributes to improved response times. That functionality requirement sets up simple, clean spatial relationships.

We think that the fire service has some of the finest high-tech equipment and the very finest trained firefighters using that equipment on a daily basis, and with that in mind the paradigm shift of designing pure historic-influenced stations begins to diminish somewhat.…

However, some of our clients like historic buildings, and [some] are appropriate when the site is in a historic area. We reinforce the positive elements of certain historic influences, but our designs reinterpret those elements into a modern structure. We avoid the historic knockoff and fake products that diminish design quality.

What are some of the trends you see in fire station design?

The trend now is about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and creating sustainable designs using sustainable materials and technology as a design impetus. To keep up with that, technology will continue to influence and create modern forms in architecture. Continued focus will be on helping with quality of life improvements and NFPA 1500 issues.…

Personally, I want to design buildings that are completely respectful of the environment, with consideration for recycled materials, water harvesting and replenishment of water to our earth, as well as practical applications of energy conserving systems. You may want the advantage at certain times of the year to have direct solar gain when you need it, and be able to deny the sun's entrance into the building when you do not want it. Natural light and ventilation are extremely important in sustainable design. Many new buildings will become LEED certified and more professional architects will become LEED accredited as time goes on and this will influence future designs.

Younger incoming “techie” computer-age fire service members will also want modern high-tech buildings to a greater extent, not only in function, but also in the style and look of the building.

Any advice to fire chiefs who are building a station?

First of all, select an experienced architect with a good track record and agree to be a part of the design team working with the architect to create a well-designed building. All should be good listeners and be open-minded. The architect and the fire chief, as partners on the design team, should recognize that their ideas are extremely important. Interact with the fire service user group team, from the seasoned veterans to the younger newcomers.

Work to understand sustainable green architecture and help create the image for the future in your new building.… Be respectful of the past and let the architecture be in harmony with the beautiful high-tech fire apparatus and equipment used in the new century we find ourselves.