The Setauket Fire District, East Setauket New York
 

The Setauket Fire District purchased land surrounding its existing headquarters built in 1930. The land sits on the historic crossroads of the community and is currently anchored by the historic Presbyterian Church. The existing building is a wood framed building and unable to sustain a modern fire company. The plan is to develop a modern firehouse that blends into an historic community while addressing contemporary issues of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability that will last one hundred years. The architectural approaches to the building take the monumental scale of the firehouse institution and allow it to transition into a residential neighborhood using familiar forms and detailing. The project can be viewed in three parts, the firehouse which runs along Route 25A, the fire district offices along old town road, and the greenhouse which links the two structures together.

The project uses the typology of the firehouse and the historic hose tower to be reused in a new and innovative way as passive ventilation for the Apparatus Room. The Firehouse also uses the ubiquitous two over two window common to the north shore community. The building is clad in a precast concrete panel with brick set in it for thermal mass and ease of erection. The east west orientation allows for day lighting the Apparatus Bays and for passive and active solar energy. The roof will be completed with a recycled rubber product that simulates the look of slate.

The fire district offices and meeting rooms are oriented north to south along Old Town Road. The fire district offices were places in a berm, taking the most energy intensive part of the operation and placing it in a stable environment with three sides exposed to temperatures of 55˚. This will help to reduce the extremes of heating and cooling during the year. The open plan allows for day lighting and views to the exterior through a large east window wall and light is brought to the west side of the office via a light well system. The meeting room is designed for public access from the open plaza at the street corner. A double row of trees serves as a buffer from the commercial to the residential community, but also to deflect solar loading of the long western façade. The roof configuration is taken from traditional housing structures once located on the south side of the site. The multiple gables give a large south facing surface area for photovoltaic installations both now and in the future.

The greenhouse serves as the link between the two functioning volumes. Containing the stairs, elevators and bathrooms, the structure acts as the buildings core. It is designed to make reference to the traditional timber framing in the area as well as the greenhouses that existed in this once thriving agricultural community. The structure also serves as a passive solar furnace, to be heated by the sun during the heating season and drawing that heat off for use in the second floor of the fire department. The structure is framed in certified engineered lumber with a low iron clear glass wall.

As per the project program, the building is designed to be a one hundred year building. The presentation identifying the criteria for this building brought about the requirement of a “green” building and ultimately led to the decision to certify this project under the US Green Building Council’s LEED™ Green Building Rating System