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Chandler Fire Training Academy Expansion |
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Chandler, AZ
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In the early stages of the City of Chandler Fire Training Facility design process, the design team was confronted with a myriad of construction material choices. In retrospect, our decision to use masonry for this world-class facility seems an obvious choice. Like the fire fighting individuals who staff and use the Fire Training Facility, masonry is rugged, dependable and honest.
In addition to being noncombustible, the masonry used throughout this campus was able to convey an academic sense of learning and permanence. The variety of masonry types, shapes and textures also helped consolidate a mixture of existing masonry buildings built years before this new addition into a unified university of fire training excellence. A custom ground-faced Mesa Stone ‘Pearl Grey’ block color was even developed so that the new construction would closely relate to an older adjacent masonry building without having to resort to any stains or paint. The alternating masonry bands of integral colored ground-faced block and split-faced block are reversed between the masonry building body and the columns to create emphasis and interest throughout the project. This considered masonry coursing continues into feature interior walls for sound privacy and to fully integrate the inside and outside esthetic of the facility.
Not to be overlooked, the design team was also utterly fascinated with the purposeful apparatus and equipment employed by these dedicated fire personnel to save lives. From the fire trucks, ladders, hoses, pneumatic cutting tools, gaffs and protective gear; these no-nonsense pragmatic objects completely surround fire fighters every day. So why should their house of learning be any different?! The pronounced horizontal striations of contrasting masonry imparts a decisive machine aesthetic to the building facades while creating a citadel of learning and the warm embrace of a college-like campus environment. Structural integrity, economy, longevity, strength and beauty, masonry was simply the most appropriate material choice for the Chandler Fire Training Facility.
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