CONTEXTO

Three main site issues were the impetus for the Queens Emergency Medical Services (EMS) building: 1. Capitalizing on the energy of the sloping street to create a dynamic identity 2. Resolving the conflicting scale issues of the neighborhood to create a unified street 3. Protecting an existing underground utility tunnel that traversed the site The first impetus was the strongly sloping site that inspired a continuously inclined form. The building rises up and out of the sidewalk following the lines of the street and culminating in a dynamic cantilever that overhangs the entry to the parking lot. The diagonal form anticipates movement, embodying the programmatic reality of immediate action required of EMS workers. The second issue, the scale conflict between the large hospital and the tiny houses, is also resolved through the continuously inclined form. The sloping double story volume echoes the section of the tiny houses across the street. At the same time, the length of the building works with the large scale of the adjacent hospital, while simultaneously forming a "dam" along the street that protects the houses. The third and perhaps most challenging consideration, was an existing, underground utility tunnel which courses across the entire site. It is the invisible presence of the tunnel that led to the structural approach. A long span truss/bridge uses two abutments to direct foundation loads away from the tunnel and lift the second floor creating the structure of the continuously rising form and the dramatic cantilever.

ACTUACIÓN

The Station is a hub of activity in the community. The apparatus floor (garage) is always open and engaging, with people coming and going 24-7. The internal functioning of the Station is comprised of four programs: 1. Apparatus Floor 2. Station Office 3. Station Functions 4. District Offices The most important activity for the Station is the apparatus floor. Located at one end of the site, in the tallest portion of the building, it is a grand room scaled to the street. Three garage doors, usually open, link the station to the community. Adjacent is the Station Office, command central for the entire building. Located at an overlap between the two diagonal bars, it is a three dimensional joint that visually links all four programs. The Station's lockers and showers line the first floor. The red concrete block in the corridor plays with the identity of the ambulances while creating durability for the heavily trafficked spaces. The District Offices are located within the powerful diagonal trusses of the second floor giving them a special identity within the station. The spaces are joined through shifted atriums, stairs, and large windows that overlook the apparatus floor. This continuity of spaces both outside and inside the building creates a connection between different users within the building. This facility has been embraced by the FDNY EMS users it serves and has been exemplary for the Design Excellence Program established to elevate the quality of new civic design in the city of NY.