PUBLIC SAFETY: Bokeelia, Florida
“Todd Sweet, you are to be commended for designing a project for the community that it serves. I have worked with many other architects who have become lost to their own egos and, in so doing, have designed projects to satisfy some misguided artistic drive without the proper respect for the desires and personality of their clients. Todd Sweet, you are not one of those.”
Robert Elder, Commissioner, Pine Island - Matlacha Fire Rescue District
Bokeelia Fire Station #3 is a 7,000 SF fire station built to serve the northern portion of Pine Island in the town of Bokeelia. The station design includes three drive-through apparatus bays with living quarters for up to six firefighters and EMS personnel. In addition to the bunk area, other program spaces include a dayroom, kitchen, dining area, fitness and study room. Bokeelia Fire Station #3 will also house community meeting rooms available for public use.
The building design reflects on the vernacular architecture of Pine Island that includes a vast amount of wood frame structures with asymmetrical ridges. The exterior finish is a cementitious board arranged in a combination of horizontal and vertical patterns that once again draws upon the island’s architectural vernacular.
Exterior improvements will include private and public parking areas, landscaped buffers and a half-acre lake to serve as site detention in addition to being used for drafting exercises for the fire department.
Also included in the design is a diesel tank and generator capable of powering the entire facility in the case of a power outage. The entire facility will be designed to meet the 140 mph wind load requirements with a 15% importance factor that brings the wind load to approximately 160 mph.
