Registration Deadline: April 9, 2025

2025 Concrete Masonry Competition

Fire Station

Schedule

April 9, 2025

Registration Deadline

June 4, 2025

Submission Deadline

Summer 2025

Jury Convenes

Fall 2025

Winners Announced

Program

Overall programming of the fire station is up to the student and/or faculty sponsor. It should include a variety indicated below and allow space for different types of civic engagement. Consider the life cycle of the building and the different types of individuals who would use the fire station over time. Students should also consider sustainability and reducing environmental impacts in their design.

The following is a list of programmatic spaces that needs be included in the fire station. Solutions should observe the given spaces and sizes within a range of plus or minus ten percent.

Public Spaces

Lobby			300 sq. ft.
Conference Room (also used for Training)			300 sq. ft.
ADA Public Toilet			100 sq. ft.
Office/Outreach			300 sq. ft.
PUBLIC SPACES SUBTOTAL			1,000 sq. ft.

Engine Bay and Support Areas

Apparatus Bay to house: 1 Fire Engine and 1 Ambulance			3,000 sq. ft.
Workshop			200 sq. ft.
Storage			100 sq. ft.
Air Room			200 sq. ft.
Watch/Dispatch Room			100 sq. ft.
Janitor Closet			80 sq. ft.
Mechanical (HVAC, electrical)			150 sq. ft.
Maintenance Equipment Storage			80 sq. ft.
Data Room			80 sq. ft.
Clean/Laundry Room			200 sq. ft.
APPARATUS BAY SUBTOTAL			4,190 sq. ft.

Living Quarters

10 Single Sleeping Rooms @ 110 sq. ft.			1,100 sq. ft.
ADA Bathroom(s) Gender Inclusive (Men, Women, Non-Binary)			400 sq. ft.
Kitchen and Dining			500 sq. ft.
Gym			350 sq. ft.
Lounge			350 sq. ft.
LIVING SUBTOTAL			2,700 sq. ft.

Building Net Area			7,890 sq. ft.
Circulation & Services (20%)			1,578 sq. ft.
BUILDING GROSS AREA			9,468 sq. ft.

Plaza Space: An open 50’ x 65’ area for the parking of the engines and for community events.

Site

The site for the competition is the choice of the student and/or faculty sponsor. Submissions will be required to explain the site selection, strategy, and access graphically or otherwise.

Construction Type

The primary structural system must be concrete masonry. This can be architectural block, single-wythe concrete masonry or multi-wythe, with the backup being CMU. Participants are encouraged to consider innovative ways to use concrete masonry products in interior, exterior, and landscape applications. Outdoor spaces can include concrete masonry (such as screen or privacy walls) as well as other dry-cast concrete products, such as concrete pavers and segmental retaining wall units.

Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)

CMU are manufactured using dry-cast concrete on high-speed manufacturing equipment. Dry-cast concrete differs from other types of concrete in that it is initially mixed to a very stiff consistency. This consistency facilitates production through manufacturing equipment. This equipment utilizes compaction and vibration to form the units, and a curing process to accelerate hardening.

There are several American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications that cover concrete masonry products. The primary one is ASTM C90, Standard Specification for Loadbearing Concrete Masonry Units.

Additional Concrete Products

The manufacturing process for CMU is also used to make a variety of other types of products, including segmental retaining wall (SRW) and concrete paving units. These are primarily used in hardscape applications (residentially, commercially, and more).