Cambie-Broadway Firehall and Library

Jasmine Lam

Sited at a high traffic and rapidly developing urban context, this project takes on a narrow building footprint to offer the city a park at its heart. The library and firehall acts as an extension of the existing infrastructure, on the eastern edge of the site. Glazing, a thickwall with openings and columns exist at the threshold between landscape and inhabitable space. People circulate along and between this threshold via bridges and landings that span over the atrium and connect programming. Along this path, the hose tower and firepoles are always in sight. The overlapping of stair, openings, structural elements create views of momentary connection and interaction.

The building looks onto the park, and vice versa. Furthermore, the existing alley is kept and runs through the library, allowing the lane to be an activated public space in the future. The remaining site area is landscaped with undulating slopes and a cafe and retail store that allows people to get up into the trees. The apparatus bay celebrates the presence of the fire trucks and provides an outdoor reading patio in the park. This project offers a rich display of activity in the moments between park, library, and firehall.