As part of DDC’s Design Excellence Program, an ambulance facility was commissioned to fulfill the needs six ambulance crews serving the communities of Woodlawn, Riverdale, and Kingsbridge. The FDNY’s EMS 27 is a significant new civic building, designed under New York City’s Department of Design and Construction and as a Mayoral priority project. The scope of work included a zoning override and demolition of the existing damaged Fire Station. Materials were selected for their sustainable features and low maintenance in the long term.

The 50-foot tall trapezoidal volume of EMS 27 perches at the summit of 233rd Street, an industrial corridor in the northern Bronx that threads between the park-like Woodlawn Cemetery and the modest, low-rise residential neighborhood behind. The undulating zinc cladding opens and closes to form louvers that allow for light and views where needed. This variable façade responds to the smaller scale of the neighborhood while creating a more monumental public face on 233rd Street.

The design accommodates 11,218 square feet of complex programs on the limited property footprint with two interlocking functional blocks, each connected by a double-height space. An intertwining, color-coded scissor stair links the diverse programs, which include ambulance and utility storage, offices, personnel areas, dining and meeting spaces, and a locker room. This circulatory core extends above the main roof, where it becomes both access and armature for the penthouse lounge resting atop the neighborhood.