Qian'nan Fire Station: A Modern Settlement with a Fire and Rescue Professional Identity

Transforming Traditional Settlements into a Lively Urban Space

The site of the Qian'nan Fire Station is surrounded by hills on three sides and gently slopes towards a small river, connected to the city road by a stone bridge. Taking advantage of the topography, the design establishes two grids of site order, organizing the space in a similar way to the local settlement spaces. This creates continuous courtyards in groups of units, transforming the residential space into an urban public space while maintaining the character of the local place. The use of red and white materials throughout the design showcases the professional character of fire and rescue, while the presence of azaleas, symbolizing the blooming of the mountains, pays homage to the honor of the profession.

The Qian'nan Fire Station is constructed using a concrete frame construction technique. The exterior features red split bricks with a matte finish, adding a touch of dark red tones to the design. Large white walls are made of flexible white stone, creating a striking contrast with the red elements. The use of white exterior paint emphasizes the clean lines and adds a touch of modernity. Frosted insulating glass is used for the partial facade windows and skylights, allowing natural light to flood the internal spaces.

With an area surface of 96,611.35 square meters and a building surface of 27,728.58 square meters, the Qian'nan Fire Station stands tall with a maximum height of 23 meters. Its impressive size and unique design make it a standout structure in Guiyang Guizhou Province, China.

The Qian'nan Fire Station not only serves as a functional firefighting and rescue facility but also creates a sense of community. The continuous open courtyards and functional organization of the clusters provide an atmosphere reminiscent of a local settlement. The internal spaces are bathed in natural light from the patio skylights, creating a vivid and simple ambiance. On the exterior, the red elements leap and sprawl horizontally, conveying the poetic intent of blooming flowers.

The design and construction of the Qian'nan Fire Station took place from June 2016 to October 2016 for the design phase and from March 2018 to May 2020 for the construction phase. The location of this remarkable structure is in Datang County, Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China.

The Qian'nan Fire Station is a result of extensive research conducted by West-line Studio. The studio focuses on the basic working model of geopolitical order, community model, spirit of place, and composite construction. By combining the traditional settlement with the order of place in the mountains, they have created a new communal settlement that preserves the humanity of the rural habitat and seeks to reconstruct the public life of rural society in the context of a dualistic social structure.

The Qian'nan Fire Station design presented a creative and technical challenge of combining the modern functional grouping of firefighting with the unit-formation strategy of the settlement. The result is a modern functional settlement with a local character, giving a romantic poetic symbolism to the occupation.

The Qian'nan Fire Station, designed by Haobo Wei and Jingsong Xie, is a testament to the power of architecture to transform spaces and create a sense of community. With its unique design inspired by traditional settlements and its fire and rescue professional identity, it stands as a symbol of strength, protection, and the harmonious integration of modernity and tradition.