The Big Roof

Fire Station for KeeLung City Govenrment

Fire station could be a very important landmark in a neighborhood and yet still blending into the environment. This project is located at Keelung, a mountainous and rainy city with more than 90 percentage hills. The concept is to adapt mountain house style at this area, which have taken into the main building elements to infect the landscape and climate. The sloping roof is a new layer of the mountain skin. The balconies and openings form special spaces in-between the landscape and the building and creates additional depth in the summer to avoid sunlight but still allows natural ventilation.

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The Big Roof by Chuan Chih Chang

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Fire Station by Chuan Chih Chang

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Chuan Chih Chang The Big Roof

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Chuan Chih Chang Fire Station

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KeeLung City Govenrment Brand Logo

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The Big Roof Fire Station Press Releases

Discover our press releases for The Big Roof available in the following languages: English.

The Big Roof Fire Station Media Articles

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Unique Properties

Fire station is a landmark and yet still blending into the environment. The project is located at Keelung, Taiwan, a mountainous and rainy city. It is crucial to design the interface of the urban context and the building which connects visual guidance and natural shades for rain or sun. People can take the scenic path right by the fire station to access the park, the east bridge, the natural landscape. It is a statement of the fire station being part of local residents' lives.

Tags

big roof, fire station, architecture, taiwan

Production Technology

Because of the local humid weather and limited budget, the fire station itself is expected to be easy to construct and maintain. The excavation strategy for mountain soil is very economy efficient, and use raw concrete formboard and self-compacting concrete for main structure and exterior walls. Earthquakes occur frequently in Taiwan, so we avoid to use stone panel or tiles, to prevent its damaging caused by earthquakes. Mineral painting on the big slope roof top also helps as the waterproofed layer.

Design Challenge

The most difficult challenge of this project is the local mountain terrain and the project is located on a 45degree slope terrain. We need to think about how to construct at a steep terrain and also how to pour concrete when the local weather is often humid all year long. Therefore, during the design process, architects highly participate at the pre-construction meetings and also discuss with contractors about construction methods that helps to complete the project under limited budget.

Project Duration

The project started in March 2017, and finished in March, 2021, located in Keelung city, Taiwan.

Operation Flow

At Asia cities that are similar to Taiwan’s, firefighters usually need to cover double amount of citizen’s safety than western countries. So when designing a fire station, architects not only need to design an efficient office, but also a good living residence. Because we believe with good living spaces, it can benefit both life and work quality. For this project, various balconies and openings allow great views from indoor to outdoor which offer great work and live spaces for firefighters.

Research

For architectures like police and fire stations, are usually designed as a majestic building in image or form wise in Asian societies. Taiwan government also tries to re-connect people and public institutions to improve public services. So during design process, architects try to design these public institutions based on regionalism and avoid the majestic image. So the design concept is to adapt “mountain house” style at this area and into our main building elements to the landscape and climate.

Inspiration

The concept is to adapt an indigenous building style “mountain house” in Taiwan, which have taken into the main building elements to the landscape and climate. The big sloping roof is a new layer of the mountain skin. The balconies and openings form unique space in-between the landscape and building and also create additional depth in in the summer to avoid sunlight but still allows natural ventilation, it also allow people doing multiple activities doing in and out the new mountain skin.

Image Credits

photo: OS Studio

Project Overview

The Big Roof Fire Station has been a Iron winner in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design award category in the year 2022 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Iron Recognition

Chuan-Chih Chang was recognized with the coveted Iron A' Design Award in 2023, a testament to excellence of their work The Big Roof Fire Station.

Chuan-Chih Chang Press Releases

Explore the world of Chuan-Chih Chang through our press releases, designed for media members to use freely and enrich your content. Available now: 1 press releases ready for immediate access by journalists.

The Big Roof: A Unique Fire Station Design in Keelung, Taiwan

Chuan-Chih Chang's innovative fire station design, "The Big Roof," blends seamlessly into the mountainous landscape of Keelung, Taiwan, offering a new approach to public architecture.

Chuan-Chih Chang Newsroom

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