Fire, Crime & Accident: Fire Departments, Police Stations, Rescue Services (Architecture in Focus)

Architecture for rescue services has come a long way in the past decade. Buildings for the police, fire brigades and ambulance stations have lost their often purely functional and shed-like appearance and have begun to strive for recognition as an equitable architectural typology since Zaha Hadid’s trailblazing Vitra fire station in Weil am Rhein. This building type certainly is a challenge as there are numerous conditions to be taken into account in terms of functionality and especially security. The examples chosen for this title show an amazing diversity of emergency architecture. The buildings presented frequently house more than one institution, using the latest technology and communication techniques to successfully combine different functions under one roof. The projects included range from the rural two-bay ambulance depot to police headquarters and airport fire departments.