VITRA FIRE STATION

by Zaha Hadid

Vitra Fire Station

WEILAM RHEIM, GERMANY 1991-1993

The Vitra Fire Station was Zaha Hadid's first built project. The building functioned as a firehouse until the fire district lines were re-drawn. The building is now used by Vitra as a showplace for part of its permanent collection of chairs.

Deconstructivism

- asymmetrical and irregular shapes, which allows multiple entries into the building - use of distortion makes the walls seem to melt and floors seem to curve - the ceilings are generally appeared to be compressed, bended, and/or expanded - her work represents how nature was established and developed by means of overlaps, rhythms and textures, like an artificial landscape

Vitra Fire Station

The Building

Vitra Fire Station

The Model

The whole building is movement, frozen. It expresses the tension of being on the alert; and the potential to explode into action at any moment.

Vitra Fire Station

Front View

- visual illusion of a larger space - linear landscaped zone: defining space rather than occupy space

Vitra Fire Station

Front View

- the intersection of each shape is carefully calculated each parts of the building complement each other

Vitra Fire Station

Back View
- composition of jutting, irregular, sharp concrete planes - emphasizing the horizontal plane

Vitra Fire Station

Exterior
second floor

Vitra Fire Station Interior

Linear, layered series of walls which appear to slide past each other, while the large sliding doors literally form a moving wall

Vitra Fire Station

second floor

Interior

The lines of light direct the necessarily precise and fast movement through the building

Roof of 1st floor becomes patio for 2nd floor

Bibliography
http://www.visionunion.com/article.jsp?code=200509080079 http://www.vitra.de/architecture/default.asp?lang=il_en http://www.zaha-hadid.com/vitra%20movie.swf http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2004/pdf/Vitra.pdf http://www.figure-ground.com/travel/image.php?vitra_fire http://big5.china.com.cn/chinese/feature/583820.htm http://tenplusone.inax.co.jp/archives/fieldwork/photoarchives/0612basel/index0612.php?c=0&i=12 http://daapspace4.daap.uc.edu/~feinze/galleries/immersion/webProcessBook.pdf http://aboutmuseum.blogspot.com/2006/05/vitra-design-museum-weil-am-rhein.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_n7_v83/ai_17309682/pg_2 http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2109962,00.html http://arch-essays.blogspot.com/2005/01/zaha-hadid-first-pritzker-woman.html http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/vitrafire/index.htm http://www.0lll.com/lud/pages/architecture/archgallery/hadid_vitra/index.htm Flickr.com: Arkfinder, Bettie, Iamkimmm, inter-, simon wu, thegoatisbad, valentinaa, nickehret, catesvizion, dexter_mixwith, Darwinism, Idiosincrasia, Doctor Casino, Guitarchitect, autumn_rhythm84, mightymightymatze, maos, XebastYan, ziegel.kurt, section12online Webshots.com: edwardmw_germany2 Journals: El Croquis V.73 (Zaha Hadid) Zaha Hadid: The Complete Buildings and Projects The Wall Street Journal The New York Times