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
| Aug 21, 2012
Hong Kong’s first LEED Platinum pre-certified building opens
Environmentally-sensitive features have been incorporated, including reduced operational CO2 emissions, and providing occupiers with more choice in creating a suitable working environment.
| Aug 21, 2012
Stellar wins four ABC Excellence In Construction awards
ABC's Excellence In Construction program is the industry’s leading award competition, recognizing outstanding construction projects in a variety of categories.
| Aug 20, 2012
Protecting the artifacts at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Roof leaks threatened to damage artifacts and disturb a delicately controlled indoor environment at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
| Aug 17, 2012
Ferreri joins PGAL as Principal
Ferreri will be responsible for business development, contract negotiation, project design through construction and staff management/mentoring.
| Aug 17, 2012
Centric Architecture and PLAD Studio merge
The new firm will retain Centric Architecture as its name.
| Aug 15, 2012
MBH Architects announces new appointments
MBH Architects continues to grow, take on new clients.
| Aug 15, 2012
Architects and designers challenged in Allsteel’s reality design competition
KITS mobile app offers flexibility in planning.
| Aug 14, 2012
Leo A Daly welcomes Carl Gentilcore
Gentilcore will be responsible for identifying, developing and managing client relations with key federal government agencies.
| Aug 14, 2012
SOM Foundation announces prize recipients for 2012
Submissions for the SOM Prize were received from students at 34 schools in the U.S.
| Aug 9, 2012
Slideshow: New renderings of 1 WTC
Upon its scheduled completion in early 2014, One World Trade Center will rise 1,776 feet to the top of its spire, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
