In Hayward, Calif., the city has just broken ground on a new and unique project: a fire station with a health clinic built in, CityLab reports.
Designed by WRNS Studio, the Firehouse Clinic will encourage local residents with limited healthcare access to consider them as an alternative to the emergency room, especially for preventive care.
To further this goal, the clinic will stay open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and patients are guaranteed appointments within 72 hours of their request. While the clinic will share the fire station's property, the building will be separate. With seven exam rooms and 2,400 sf, the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency expects 5,000 new patients to come through the clinic in its first two years.
"Essentially the idea is that fire stations, and fire fighters, are a trusted entity in the neighborhood," said Kyle Elliott, partner at WRNS Studio in San Francisco. "There's an EMT on site, typically, in a fire house. It makes a good symbiotic relationship to place a clinic adjacent to a fire house."
WRNS Studio's initial design was considered for multiple stations in Alameda County, given that it assumed an available parcel of land next to the fire station. According to Elliott, the firm hopes to encourage this model in other communities, since every community has a fire house and needs healthcare.
"Our job was to crystallize a vision, not the vision, and to articulate the guidelines and principles to think about," Elliott said. "There were discussions about investigating something added onto an existing building, or reusing a part of an existing building. Those are very plausible solutions for communities."
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Aug 9, 2017
Related Companies unveils plans for One Hudson Yards luxury rental residences
The 33-story tower will be positioned on the High Line with views of the Hudson River and downtown Manhattan.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 9, 2017
Multifamily developers, designers cater to occupants’ need for mobility
Bike storage facilities and “bicycle kitchens” are among the most popular mobility amenities in multifamily developments, according to a new survey by Multifamily Design + Construction magazine.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Innovation at 72 design firms
The following is a list of advancements architecture and A/E firms underwent in 2016, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Top 115 Architecture Firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, and HKS top Building Design+Construction’s ranking of the nation’s largest architecture firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Top 100 Architecture/Engineering Firms
Stantec, HOK, and CallisonRTKL are among the nation’s largest architecture/engineering firms, according to Building Design+Construction’s 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Contractors | Aug 4, 2017
4 ways to prepare for a negotiation
Practice, practice, practice, and understanding both sides of the deliberation are critical to success in any negotiation.
Laboratories | Aug 3, 2017
Today’s university lab building by the numbers
A three-month study of science facilities conducted by Shepley Bulfinch reveals key findings related to space allocation, size, and cost.
Lighting | Aug 2, 2017
Dynamic white lighting mimics daylighting
By varying an LED luminaire’s color temperature, it is possible to mimic daylighting, to some extent, and the natural circadian rhythms that accompany it, writes DLR Group’s Sean Avery.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 2, 2017
8 healthcare design lessons from shadowing a nurse
From the surprising number of “hunting and gathering” trips to the need for quiet spaces for phone calls, interior designer Carolyn Fleetwood Blake shares her takeaways from a day shadowing a nurse.
