Fire Station by STGM and CCM2 in Quebec

The architects from STGM and CCM2 built the new fire station in Pintendre, Québec in Canada, summing up their project as “formal simplicity at the service of emergencies”.


A fire station needs to be designed to be as usable and practical as possible and this mission alone set up a major challenge for the architects, already considering some earlier works of this kind, like Zaha Hadid's famous Fire Station at the Vitra in Weil am Rhein or the more recent fire station designed by Roland Baldi in Alto Adige (link).
The architects from STGM+CCM2 built a brand new fire station on an area of 1500 m2 in the town of Pintendre in Lévis, a city on the St. Laurence river, opposite Québec. The building lies low and the heights of the connecting but separate volumes change to suit their purpose.
Eight fire trucks from the fire station fleet are parked alongside other vehicles in the construction with a deliberately simple form, chosen also to reflect the materials adopted, dominated by a black aluminium skin and lots of glass with local wood inserts. Offices and conference room are located in the lowest part of the complex and - like the garages - overlook the surrounding nature with large windows, while the kitchen, dormitory and other relaxation zones provide more privacy for the fire-fighters.
Like the exteriors, the interiors of this fire station designed by the  STGM+CCM2 team stand out for their sleek lines, here underscored by the use of white with pops of colours, the red chairs referencing the vehicles.
The new fire station by STGM+CCM2 shows how attentive design that creatively brings together aesthetics with function can also be visually sustainable, to the advantage of the context and the users.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: STGM+CCM2
Location: Pintendre, Lévis, Québec, Canada
Year: 2017
Images: Stéphane Groleau
Thanks to v2om