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Virginia Tech

Building as Witness

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

A fire station is a building where not too many things happen. But the few that do are either too forgettable or too memorable. This thesis tries to achieve time, innovation and realism. There's a redundancy in this building, in people's actions that makes it memorable. This building is the evidence of my way of thinking architecture. It reflects my memory as student and architect. It shows an undeniable background. It's questioning why buildings don't endure in time, why they are disposable objects. I'm trying to find reasons to make a building respectful, socially involved with its surroundings. The project is a midsize fire station. It answers to an actual necessity to relocate the existing fire station on Prince St. (Alexandria, VA) giving more space for firefighters and better access for two trucks. The new site is an existing parking lot that crosses a whole block from South Washington St. to South Columbus St. between Wilkes St. and Wolfe St. This site gave me the possibility to create a building where trucks can access and leave it without turning or maneuvering too much.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2006

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Mosso, Santiago
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Emmons, Paul F.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Holt, Jaan
  • Feuerstein, Marcia F.

Subjects

dc:subject × 16

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-08052006-115423
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/34360

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Mosso, Santiago. Building as Witness. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34360