Bramier Fire Station

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

BRAMIER FIRE STATION

Bureau DBG

ARCHITECTS
Bureau Dbg

LEAD ARCHITECT
Dries Goesaert

FINISHING CONTRACTOR
Holvoet Gebroeders

CIVIL CONTRACTOR
Spanbo

MANUFACTURERS
Reynaers Aluminium, Condeco

DESIGN OFFICE
Bureau Dbg

PHOTOGRAPHS
klaas Verdru

AREA
1300 M²

YEAR
2023

LOCATION
Menen, Belgium

CATEGORY
Fire Station

The Fluvia emergency zone wishes to erect a new fire station for the Lauwe and Marke fire brigades on the Bramier business park. 

The site assigned for the new fire station is located at the end of the business park and borders the adjacent nature reserve.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

The new fire station is built along the southern boundary of the plot. As a result, the building itself acts as a buffer between the nature reserve and the business park.

On the northern side of the building, this creates a large forecourt that provides space for parking, circulation, and training grounds.

These activities are located on the "busier" northern side of the building so that the adjacent nature reserve is shielded from it and peace is preserved.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

By implanting the building in this way, a clear and legible layout is created in which the entire surface of the site is used efficiently and residual zones behind or next to the building are avoided.

The elongated building provides a large contact surface with the forecourt so that each fire vehicle has its own access gate and is therefore immediately deployable.

On the southern side, the facade completely borders the nature reserve. It was an explicit request from Leiedal to design this facade as a green facade.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

To give more depth to this so-called green facade and also to provide added value for users of the building, cutouts are made in this facade.

These cutouts are designed as green patios that soften the transition between nature and activity and provide a subtle view into a fire station from the adjacent bike path.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

From inside, these patios provide plenty of light and a pleasant view from the living areas. The appearance of the fire station is halfway between an industrial building and a pavilion in a nature reserve.

The roof line of the building varies between 2 levels so that no monolith is created. This intervention, together with the cutouts, ensures that everything becomes smaller in scale.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

The facades are made up of black pigmented board-formed concrete panels and are always finished with burned wooden slats on the seams. A subtle nod to firefighters.

The structure of the building is designed so that all load-bearing elements are located along the north and south facades and that the span between both facades happens at once.

Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru
Bramier Fire Station
© ​Klaas Verdru

There are therefore no load-bearing walls or columns in the center of the building. This construction allows maximum flexibility in the future.

Inside, training rooms and bar spaces can function independently of intervention spaces so that these spaces can also be rented by external parties.


Bramier Fire Station
Ground Floor Plan
Bramier Fire Station
1st Floor Plan


Bramier Fire Station
South Elevation
Bramier Fire Station
North Elevation


Bramier Fire Station
Section G