The replacement Engine Company 109 fire station is a new one-story, 14,000 square-foot prototype facility consisting of steel framing with exterior brick veneer, a burnished block interior and terrazzo flooring. The building includes accommodations for up to 20 firefighters, an apparatus bay to store all vehicles, three-inbound doors and three-outbound doors with a 52-foot circular driveway designed for ease of maneuvering of all fire vehicles. The fire station consists of approximately 5,000 square feet of apparatus room and 10,000 square feet of offices, sleeping quarters, lockers and storage rooms.
The Little Village Library consists of an 18,000-square-foot facility containing a general reading room, a community room, amenities for library staff, and an outdoor reading garden.
Primera was selected to design both facilities on adjacent sites. In order to achieve LEED Silver certification, extensive energy modeling using EQUEST was used throughout the design phases to determine the best path to maximize energy savings. Through extensive coordination and collaboration with the project team, Primera designed water-source heat pumps in conjunction with a common on-site geothermal field. This geothermal field is shared between the new Engine Company 109 and the Little Village Library. By combining the geothermal field, Primera created first cost and life-cycle cost savings for both projects. Other sustainable features include an efficient VAV air-handling system, in-floor radiant heating, high efficiency lighting, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The final design produced an estimated savings of approximately 40% compared to the ASHRAE 90.1 Standard baseline for the library and energy savings of up to 35% for the fire station.
