Development

Studio Gang's Innovative Firehouse Takes Shape in Ocean Hill

The prominent firm’s innovative precast concrete firehouse for Brooklyn Rescue Company 2 has topped out on Sterling Place in Ocean Hill.

Photo by Susan De Vries

by Seán Devlin

08/21/2017 4 minute 0

Studio Gang’s innovative precast concrete firehouse for Brooklyn Rescue Company 2 has topped out at 1815 Sterling Place in Ocean Hill. The blocky form awaits finishing touches of red glazed tile, which will frame voids in the facade.

The award-winning design is organized around the theme of empty spaces, which firefighters encounter in their work. The three-story, 18,152-square-foot structure is centered around a void for training and to bring light and air into the space.

“The new facility for Rescue 2 is designed to serve as a training tool that allows their elite team to stage and simulate emergency conditions in, on, and around the building, while also providing the neighborhood with inviting new gathering spaces that Company and community members can enjoy together,” said Studio Gang founder and MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang in a statement. The building’s exterior details, such as the red tile, emphasize “points of connection between the facility and the community it serves,” she added.

The empty space at the center of the building extends from the ground to the roof. The firefighters can use the versatile space to simulate rescue operations over balconies, doorways, ladders, bridges and stairs.

The kitchen is designed for socializing, and there is also a backyard for grilling, open air porches, a roof terrace, gym, offices, dorms and parking for seven cars. The energy-efficient building will have a green roof with a lawn and trees, a solar hot-water system, and geothermal HVAC.

“The inventive new firehouse is sure to become a critical structure for New York’s Bravest and a source of pride for the community,” according to a statement from the New York Public Design Commission, which gave the building an Award for Excellence in 2015.

Chicago-based Studio Gang is an award-winning firm with a focus on sustainability. Projects include the United States Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, and the Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The city purchased the empty lot in 1982. FDNY Rescue 2 is currently located at 1472 Bergen Street in Crown Heights. The $32 million project broke ground in 2016 and is expected to wrap in summer of 2018, according to the city.