RKT&B Architecture completes Engine Company 201 on Fourth Ave.

RKT&B Architecture and Urban Design has completed Engine Company 201 on Fourth Ave. in Sunset Park. The new firehouse is one of the first to be completed as part of the City of New York's Department of Design and Construction's Design Excellence Program. RKT&B's work with the Fire Department of New York helps redefine the general design standard for new firehouses in the city. "We are extremely proud to have been partners with the Fire Department and the DDC in such an extraordinary example of collaboration for the benefit of the community of Sunset Park," said Carmi Bee, president of RKT&B "We are equally excited at the notion of this collaborative effort being a touchstone for future thinking on firehouse design and efficiency in New York City, and by example, the rest of the nation." The importance the firehouse plays in the life of the community is expressed through the glass apparatus doors at ground level, visually connecting the firefighters with the neighborhood they serve. It is the first firehouse in the city to be built with glass doors. Other symbolic design elements include the iconic Maltese Cross, which is embossed on glass and expressed as an illuminated "light box" on the third floor facade and the use of brightly glazed red brick throughout. A pre-existing ground floor memorial dedicated to fallen heroes has also been preserved and incorporated into the interior. The new design gives the highest priorities to apparatus floor function, response time and operational efficiency of the shared spaces on the ground floor.