Archmedium Competition- Switchboard
Third Prize Winner
In collaboration with Matthew Rosier (UCL), David Jones (University of Cambridge) and Martino Gasparinni (University of Westminster)
Each of the 51 inhabitable towers at The Switchboard corresponds to one of each of San Francisco's 51 existing city fire stations. Whenever one of the fire stations in the city is experiencing activity, (such as a fire engine being called to an emergency situation), its corresponding tower at the HQ becomes illuminated from further distances such as the Oakland Bay Bridge, or perhaps from deeper into the city (where the towers appear an indistinguishable mass). The HQ can be seen as a poetic and ethereal illuminated indicator of the general level of fire department activity in the city, serving as a homage to the fire fighters of San Francisco.
Each of the fire station towers is numbered and inhabited by individuals working in partnership with their cities' corresponding fire station. Connecting pathways, allow the fire station to become a civic space, where the public may walk between the towers and experience the changes in spatial atmosphere as the towers lighten and darken, as well as discover both historical and live information relating to that department. The public may also look into the shallow pool of beneath their feet and see the mechanical facilities, staff social spaces and vehicles- the life's blood of the fire station headquarters. The San Francisco Headquarters act as the visual link between the fire department and the city for whom they service.
