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J UNE 2018 | 59 Tuscany Fire Station RENDERINGS COURTESY IBI GROUP ARCHITECTS Tuscany Fire Station by SUSAN PEDERSON W hen manager of capital devel- opment Mark Woodward started with the Calgary Fire Department (CFD) as a firefighter 20 years ago, he remembers shared dorms and non-automated systems that counted on the firefighters to switch off stoves and other systems before they went out on a call. The new Tuscany Fire Station, a multi-use facility with its new single dorms, structural innovations, and automated systems throughout, is a far cry from a traditional fire hall – even if it is designed to look like one. The project is clad in traditional red brick on the south side, where the fire station will be housed. The north side of the building will house a com- munity room, which can be booked by residents for community programs or meetings. In a departure from tradi- tional fire hall design, however, large glass windows provide a view of the green space and fields from within, and ensure the space is bright and open. Leanne Soligo, architect with IBI Group Architects, says the design is partly a result of two years of audits of 25 existing fire stations, incorporating feed- back from all the firefighters interviewed. "We spent a day in the life of a fire- fighter, and realized that the traditional approach is not the wrong approach, so we modernized. For example, we don't have the traditional fire tower, instead we used the main stairs to create the look and feel of a tower and it's not tak- ing up additional space." They also engaged community input, and at the groundbreaking set up a booth with paints and paper for the kids. The resulting paintings were on display for the open house and then posted on site and remained up throughout the duration of the project. Electrical designer David Reid, with SMP Engineering adds, "This fire sta- tion is located very close to residences and a great amount of design consider- ation was given to the concept of 'how does the electrical design help this sta- tion be a good neighbour?'" Carefully selecting and placing luminaires that allow the station to function as required but not spill light into the adjacent properties was of upmost importance. A warmer colour temperature was used for the exterior lighting to help create a welcoming feel for the community. To keep the noise down, no alerting speakers or alarm devices are aimed at the residential properties. Where exterior speakers are required they are controlled so that they are only on when necessary. Green space adjacent to the fire hall was also shaped by community input, and boasts an outdoor fitness area, for use by both firefighters and the general public. "I am really happy with what we got to do with the garden architecturally. The green space has interactive path- ways that may contain pedestals about fire stations and a QR code that will also talk about sustainability," Soligo adds. The building process itself went rel- atively smoothly – once some creative building methods were used to address less than ideal site conditions. Navid Sasanian, the project's struc- tural engineer with WSP Canada, explains, "The project site was origi- nally an outdoor soccer field underlain with a two-metre to eight-metre-deep layer of organic fill material, likely imported to the field during the orig- inal subdivision development. The imported fill was not properly com- pacted, thus not suitable for supporting the weight of the proposed building." The solution: a deep foundation system – concrete piles deep enough to reach and penetrate the bedrock underneath the organic fill were uti- lized to support the building weight. And to mitigate the risk of floor settle- ment, the main floor was designed as a suspended structural slab that does not rely on the soil below for support. "Building structures have either piles or footings founded on a competent soil stratum to support the loads. It's not common in Calgary that the site soil con- ditions force us to ignore the soil as deep as eight metres," explains Sasanian. As a post disaster importance cat- egory building, the fire station was designed to withstand the effects of extreme climatic loads such as a wind storm, heavy snow fall or an earth- quake. Moreover, the structural design ensures the fire station remains fully operational to service the community during a natural disaster. "We're not doing anything special with respect to materials," says Soligo "Yet we earned LEED Gold with this project and are one of the first to get all 19 energy points, thanks to things like local materials, photovoltaic cells on the roof, and the water efficiency. We are pretty proud of that." The solar array will be capable of generating up to 25 percent of the building's electricity. Eric Oshiro, mechanical consul- tant with Smith + Andersen, explains, "From our standpoint we were really targeting high energy points from the mechanical systems. We had to pick and choose mechanical systems to be ultra efficient. The building system uses dry coolers and heat pumps, and also has a high-efficiency make-up air and heat recovery system, which pro- vides ventilation and exhaust." Additionally, the CFD has engineer- ing design guidelines based on past experience that are mandated when, for example, firefighters return from a call and their clothes and bodies smell like smoke. Fire stations now must provide dedicated exhaust from each individual room so there is no transfer of smells. Safety issues involving vehicles at the station are addressed with an inte- grated PLC system. The PLC system controls the Nederman MagnaRail exhaust, a high-capacity system designed to handle the highest opera- tional requirements. Up to four vehicles can be attached to the same rail, each with a designated disconnection point. Exhaust controls are activated when doors open and trucks or ambulances automatically unlock themselves. "You drive the truck into the bay and the magnet sticks the hose onto the side of the fire truck's exhaust, and as they leave or drive out this hose slides along the rail, and the magnet unlocks," says Oshiro. "There is also an auto- matic lighting system, so as trucks are backing in or leaving, lights are indicat- ing where you are supposed to be." Stories abound about firefighters leaving in the middle of dinner and for- getting to turn off the stove and the fire station burning. According to Oshiro, "that actually happens more than you think, at centres where they have to operate these systems manually. Here there is an automatic lock-down sys- tem of the gas when there is an alarm." Compared to fire stations of 20 years ago, the new Tuscany Fire Station is almost unrecognizable, but for the nod to tradition on the exterior. Adapting today's building methods to ensure sta- bility, and incorporating community support, the new Tuscany Fire Station is certain to be an integral part of the community for generations to come. A LOCATION 345 Tuscany Way NW, Calgary, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Calgary Fire Department ARCHITECT/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IBI Group Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Stuart Olson Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL/LEED/ BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTANT WSP Canada MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering TOTAL SIZE 958 square metres TOTAL COST $11.2 million 9:55 AM 7:56 AM

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