HFD Fire Station #37
Houston, TX
Architect:
Natex Corporation Architects
Public Art Commission administered by:
Houston Arts Alliance
Main Entry Windows, FIRE AND WATER
Left Side: 6’-11” wide by 17’-5”ht.
Right Side: 8’-10” wide by 17’-5”ht.
Rear Window, SQUIRREL TREE
3’-6” wide by 17’-5”ht.
German, French and Polish mouthblown glass, domestic rolled glasses, dichroic glass, hand-pressed German lenses, Austrian lead crystal bevels, lead and solder.
By working closely with station fire fighters and chiefs, the architects and the Houston Arts Alliance, the stained glass designs strive to be responsive on several levels. First of all, they are predicated on the fact that these windows are part of the home and workplace of four very dedicated shifts of firefighters. The glass art also strives to be an integral part of Fire Station 37’s new architecture. The windows at the main entrance greet both firefighters and visitors to the station. The less public rear windows are part of the relaxed, informal setting along with picnic table and BBQ from the old station. Finally, the new fire station is an important part of the neighborhood’s streetscape where they are visible to passersby and offer a sparkling welcome to visitors.
FIRE AND WATER: All the information from the pre-design meetings finally boiled down to two simple ideas. Unlike firefighters and their equipment (trucks, nozzles, hoses, helmets, pick-headed axes, pike poles, Maltese crosses, logos, etc., etc.), these two things are usually not seen at a fire station. Unlike various types of equipment which, even if not within direct sight at all times, are still always within a few steps of these windows, these two things are the most essential, elemental ingredients of firefighting. What I finally realized was that all the personnel, objects and insignias I had been thinking about have fire and water in common. These may be self-evident and obvious aspects of firefighting, but fire and water are usually not seen at a firehouse. Obviously fire is the essential reason for firefighting, while water has been the primary historical strategy for defeating fire.
As seen in my previous work, there is an underlying emphasis on 3-dimensional transparency and an equal de-emphasis on the 2-dimensional picture-plane of the window itself. After all, the concept of window includes light coming through and views looking out. The sheets of glass I use often have a water-like appearance. More than half of the glass proposed for the Main Entrance Windows are differently textured clear, colorless glasses that look like snapshots of liquid water.
When viewed from the outside, white glasses are visible along with color-shifting dichroic glass accents. When seen from the inside, several of these apparently “white” glasses turn out to be red or green or blue glass. Their thin “flash” of white opal glass faces out and their color is only revealed from the inside. The red glass symbolizes the reality of fire. Just as an actual fire is the main focus as responders leave the station on a fire call, the red color is visible as one exits the station. However, that very same glass’s white side is seen from the outside as firefighters return. The white represents an extinguished fire.
During my first visit Marshall Hefley (whom just about everyone in the HFD knows), described a “fire nozzle” sculpture he saw while in Mexico. It somehow had sparkling, droplet-like glass jewels spraying out – unfortunately a photo that got away. . . Anyway, you can find an abstracted nozzle and hundreds of glass lenses/drops streaming across the windows, helping to douse the red glass “flames”. Interspersed with the lenses are Austrian lead-crystal prisms that project tiny spectra into the fire station. Pale tints of green and blue also reinforce the conceptual water’s battle with fire and are most noticeable when looking out.
Rear Windows: The one story that just about everybody got excited about during my first visits was the station’s unofficial squirrel mascots (may they rest in peace). Some told me how one squirrel was so tame it would sit on shoulders while eating treats. Someone also mentioned that it will be a long time before there will be large trees at the new fire station like the one where the mascot squirrels lived back at the old station. Anyway, this story serves as a bridge between the faithful old fire station and the new one. Maybe one day, firefighters who never even saw the legendary squirrel will be reminded of the tall tales they keep hearing when they pass under the Rear Window at the new Fire Station 37.
