Project Completed by Baade Harbour Geelong (BHA)

BHA Geelong was engaged by the CFA to design a highly functional and economical building for the delivery of emergency services to the Surf Coast Region, with a strong focus on community education and ecologically sustainable design.

With a strong community association, the project had been in development for some years with fundraising completed throughout this time including golf events and ‘buy a brick’ among the many initiatives. With such involvement from the local residents, it was critical to deliver a project which met their expectations. One of the key criteria of the community was for the building to be one of the first carbon natural fire stations in Australia and subsequently was awarded the Best Sustainability project in the MBA Awards in 2014.

The brief specifically called for a built form which was innovative, reflective of the neighbourhood’s coastal character, and an approach that would ‘break the mould’ of the box like sheds commonly adopted in the design of fire stations in Victoria.

Materials and colours were chosen to meet this via neutral tones and the use of natural wood against and masonry backdrop with highlights of ‘CFA’ red to make the building identifiable as the local fire station. The building utilised large timber trusses in place of steel structure for the motor room for low embodied energy, with sustainably harvested plywood lined interiors.

As part of the reduced carbon impact, the building services also incorporated rainwater harvesting for use throughout the site, PV solar panels, and a wind turbine for the generation of power.

Placement of windows throughout were carefully done not just to improve natural daylight but make the most of passive heating and cooling. The end result being a highly functioning emergency service building that the local community was proud to call their own.