Design of the Orlando West Fire Station: From apartheid to saam

Abstract

The apartheid, or time of severe discrimination and segregation within South Africa, had lasting effects on the country's people today. Segregation is still present in the form of informal settlements where running water, electricity, and a toilet are considered luxuries. The distrust of the government leads to disaster as fires often spread quickly through these settlements and destroy entire communities while the firefighters are instead fighting the communities to let them through and do their jobs. The proposed design of the Orlando West Fire Station aims to change this course of interaction between the two groups instead towards unity and reconciliation. The design focuses on four aspects—historic, contextual, symbolic, and physical—to accomplish this goal. Each aspect and design choice strives to encourage positive communication and interaction between community members and firefighters. Recognizing the opposing group's similarities instead of the differences leads to healing and transformation from simply post-apartheid to saam.