Oakhurst's Fire Station 2 Grand Opening
Decatur Metro | May 28, 2009 | 3:42 pm
Linda Harris sends in this snazzy announcement…
But will there be flaming shots?
As a self-certified, fake journalist, I promise you an answer to this most pressing of fake questions. I swear on my diploma from Blogger University.
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We (and by we I mostly mean my 2 future firefighter boys) can’t wait to check out their new digs! Love those Decatur firefighters! Welcome back to the South side of Decatur! We missed you!
You can tell the press release is snazzy because it’s wearing a bow tie. From what I’ve seen, I do think that it is a nice looking new fire station.
We could turn this into another discussion on the merits (or lack thereof) of modern architecture –
I think the big piece of plastic stuck on the front corner looks ridiculous. Wouldn’t it have been neat to have a “classic” looking firehouse there? It could have been done in a style consistent with the Scottish Rite across the street, maybe. This building is fairly non-descript except for the plastic “tower,” which will look old and worn within a decade.
All of that not-withstanding, I’m excited that they are back in business and kudos to the community for making a smart investment in our public infrastructure. And good on ya for going after LEED certification. And thanks to the guys and gals working there for their hard work and dedication. (Anything else I need to say to make sure that my snobby architiecture critique doesn’t get confused with my support for the project in general?)
Agreed. But you have to applaud modern/post-modernists for successfully marrying themselves to the environmental movement…so when people SEE a modern building they are more likely to think “wow that looks environmentally friendly” than if they saw the more “classic” looking building that you suggest.
As you point out, it doesn’t have to be that way. Either can be made more energy efficient, but the old post-modernists have found another way to ensure their survival and a way to keep building their unsympathetic buildings.
And their success has created something of a Prius-mentality. When corporations, towns, etc build LEED certified buildings, they want people to know it. And the best way to do that is to build modern/post-modern. Just like Honda can’t sell as many Civic Hybrids as Toyota can sell Priuses, a classic LEED friendly building is actually at a disadvantage because IT DOES fit in.
That said, the massing and scale of the building works in its location so I’m OK with it.
as a fan of modern architecture I have to say that the new fire station is beautiful and fits in perfectly in the neighborhood. I do agree that the plastic (are you sure it’s not tempered and frosted glass?) corner will look dated in 10 years, though. Now we just need to get the hop & stop to remodel!
I agree. The “maybe” aged look of the firestation in the future is the least of the aesthetic challenges in that little quadrant. Wouldn’t it be nice if the management of the Old Scottish Rite (AEI, or something like that) actually maintained and cleared that overgrown, ratty area between Oakview and their side where Seen Gallery was? Looks really trashy.
Honestly, I have know idea if it’s plastic or not. I would actually assume, and hope, that it is not, but it looks like it is, and that’s part of my problem with it. But again, just being snobby and nit-picky about an otherwise great addition to OAK.
I’m no big fan of the aesthetics personally, but if I was paying attention when I toured the place (debatable, as it was at the end of a long day), that thing is actually designed as part of the solar water heater system.
Can anyone confirm or deny?
Well, I say hooray for the modern looking firestation we have in Oakhurst!
At least it is different.
It looks nice to me and sure beats some new cheap ripoff of classic architecure that we are seeing all over town in both residential and commercial buildings that historic preservationalists seem to prefer.
Do you remember what the old place looked like?
Yes, that’s the deal – the square plastic thingy in question is the solar converter. Straight from one of the fireman’s mouths…also they’ve had to take classes in how to troubleshoot that thing if anything goes wrong.
OK – now that’s pretty cool. I like better already.
OK – now that’s pretty cool. I like it better already.