Salt Lake City Fire Station 14 Wins Prestigious National Award
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The Engineering News Record (ENR) chose Salt Lake City’s Fire Station 14 as their “Best of the Best Project” in the national Government/Public Building category. This is the seventh award for Utah’s first Net Zero energy fire station which was built in 2018.
The latest award, which is detailed in the March 23 issue of ENR, is the culmination of a year-long process during which construction experts from ten different regions selected finalists. Those 200 finalists then moved to the national competition and were vetted by a different panel of judges.
Fire Station 14 is believed to be not only Utah’s, but the nation’s, first Net Zero energy fire station. That means it produces as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis.
It’s also expected to become certified as LEED Gold, showing it meets a range of holistic sustainability benchmarks, including material management, waste diversion, water conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and more.
The project was recognized last year as the Best Government/Public Building for the Mountain States Region. As a result, it was automatically entered into ENR’s national “Best of the Best” Competition. Representatives from Zwick, the general contractor, anticipate accepting the award as a representation of the collaboration between the architects, Blalock & Partners, Salt Lake City (Engineering/Fire Dept.), and themselves.
Fire Station 14, near California Ave. and 3800 West, and Fire Station 3, in Sugar House, are both Net Zero and were opened within months of each other in 2018.
After nearly two years of operation, both buildings are delivering not just environmental results, but significant cost and energy savings to the Fire Department. While Fire Station 14 won in the Government category, Fire Station 3 was just one place shy of receiving the ENR award for Best Green Project.
“These were publicly-bonded projects,” said Assistant Chief Chris Milne. “The public asked for us not only to build top-of-the-line facilities that enable our fire fighters to respond to public emergencies, but also to consider their environmental footprints. Now we’re seeing how these buildings are paying back that investment. They’re saving us significant amounts of money on our utility bills—and they’re helping clear the air.”
One of the technologies that reduces the air pollution in Fire Station 14 is the geothermal heating and cooling system. No natural gas for heat is burned during the winter, which is a significant source of wintertime air pollution.
Fire Station 14 also features 300 solar panels on the roof (totaling 108 kW), generating enough electricity to offset 100 percent of the power consumption of the building. This is enough to power 27 SLC homes annually.
With its suite of efficiency features, Fire Station 14 is projected to be five times more energy efficient than a typical fire station, contributing to a carbon emission reduction of nearly 902,000 pounds of carbon per year.
“We are honored to receive this national recognition from ENR,” said Fire Chief Karl Lieb. “Salt Lake City’s Fire Department takes our responsibility to protect the community seriously. This is what we do every day in responding to incidents and emergencies, and it’s what we’re doing at a systems-level in how we construct and manage buildings, source renewable energy, and support cleaner-fueled vehicles.”
For more information, visit the Engineering News Record:
https://www.enr.com/articles/48907-project-of-the-year-finalist-governmentpublic-building-salt-lake-city-fire-station-no-14
https://www.enr.com/blogs/13-critical-path/post/48576-winning-projects-represent-diverse-sectors-from-across-the-us
To see more on the sustainability features of Fire Station 14 and Fire Station 3 visit the SLCgreen blog:
FS 14: https://slcgreenblog.com/2018/05/30/salt-lake-city-opens-the-first-net-zero-fire-station-in-the-country/
FS 3: https://slcgreenblog.com/2018/10/15/fs-3/
Below is a list of awards Fire Station 14 and Station 03 have been given to date;
Fire Station 14 (Projected to be LEED Gold)
2020 Best of the Best, Government/Public Building, Engineering News Record-Nationwide
2019 Merit Award, AIA Western Mountain Region
2019 Best Government/Public Building, Engineering News Record-Mountain States
2018 Merit Award, AIA Utah
2018 Green Building Award, Associated General Contractors Utah
2018 Career 1 Gold, Firehouse Station Design Awards
2018 Most Outstanding Green/Sustainable Project, Utah Construction and Design
Fire Station 3
2019 Honor Award, AIA Utah
2019 Best Green Project, Project of the Year Finalist, Engineering News Record-Mountain States
2019 Municipal Building Project of the Year, Associated General Contractors Utah
2019 Career 1 Notable, Firehouse Station Design Awards
2018 Most Outstanding Municipal Project, Utah Construction and Design
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slcGreen Blog 