Brandweerkazerne Wilrijk

The quality of the design of the fire station in Wilrijk hinges on its functionality. The barracks are in use day and night and fire fighters have to be on standby at all times. The guiding principle of the design is more than just supporting architecture in order to use this functionality architecturally. Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven has achieved this with a compact, well thought-out organisational format and by finding beauty in a simple but precise palette of materials. The ‘exposed concrete' of the depotand the structure of the solid wood living floors are subject to their purpose: without embellishment, but very legible. The interface between the two worlds is the continually repeated eye-catching and recognizable joinery detailing. The red glazed bricks act as a kind of signage in the neighbourhood. This gives the barracks an architecture parlantewith a shape and appearance that leaves no doubt about the task of the fire service.

This text is based on the project text provided by the architects.