Title: Charleston Fire Station #11
Location of Proejct: Charleston, SC
Project Completion Date: 09/30/2021
Firm Name: Liollio Architecture

Short Description: Fire Station 11 resides next to the site where 9 firefighters perished in 2007 while fighting a fire in a furniture store. The program required that the fire trucks in the apparatus bay be visible from the Memorial Park. A design inspired by historic Charleston fire station building language, the new station features a single monumental arch opening at the apparatus bays. On the façade fronting the Memorial Park, nine tall vertical windows pay tribute to the fallen heroes, with nine streams of light stretching across the park landscape, always connecting this close family of firefighters.

Architect's Statement: Upon initiating the design for the new City of Charleston Fire Station 11, city leaders asked that the new building be iconic, with a meaningful presence that would convey transparency of operation and a reverent nod to its significant neighbor. Station 11 was constructed next to the site of the former Sofa Super Store, where 9 fire fighters perished in 2007 while fighting a fire in the building.

The design team and CFD met at the Memorial site before design began for a discussion of the Sofa Super Store fire, the personal impacts and effects of the event, and how it has shaped the organization. Since that event, CFD has returned to being one of the most progressive fire departments in the nation, achieving the highest ISO rating. The new station is not intended to be a memorial or remembrance of the event, it is seen as a representation of the transformation of the organization and its future. The department requested that the fire trucks in the apparatus bay be visible from the Memorial Park, in order to represent the evolution and future of the organization.

Community meetings included both local neighbors and the broader community, via focus groups and a booth at the local fire department. The community consistently conveyed that the fire station would be seen as a beacon of safety, and reminisced about the historic stations downtown. We also heard clearly that "West Ashley is not downtown" - historic downtown has a granular, pedestrian scale. This site on a prominent suburban commercial corridor with intense vehicular traffic and visual clutter requires a strong presence for civic architecture.

A design inspired by historic Charleston fire station building language, the new station features a monumental arch opening at the apparatus bays. On the façade fronting the Memorial Park, 9 tall vertical windows pay tribute to the fallen heroes, with 9 streams of light stretching across the park landscape, always connecting this close family of firefighters. The design team was challenged with how to create an everyday workplace for so many fire fighters with the Memorial Park next door; maintaining reverence, connection, and excellence but also separate from a perspective of mental health and wellbeing. The building includes a Command Training Center for simulation and remote incident command training, a program that was borne out of the losses of the Super Store fire and underscores the continued impact of that event in transforming the fire department.

In addition to the 3-bay apparatus room, the new two-story 14,000 sf facility houses the training center, administrative spaces, sleeping and living quarters. A bell tower, inspired by the old fire watch towers in the historic district, defines the main entry to the building. The historic bell from the former Meeting Street Station was refurbished and installed, ringing daily in a reminder of the vital service the station provides. The fire station is the first civic project designed within the City’s West Ashley Revitalization Plan; setting a benchmark for future projects and representing the aspirations of adjacent neighborhoods.