This project is a demonstration project and has genuine ambitions for providing environmental and cultural sustainability with long term benefits to the community. Maryborough is the centre of the second largest timber growing and manufacturing regions in Australia, and timber is a major generator of employment in the local community. This project sought to ‘walk the walk’ by using the building as a physical display of a commitment to using locally grown, locally manufactured timber. The project was also an exemplar for QFES, as it demonstrates their own commitment to supporting the responsible use of timber in a class 5 building, and of all building typologies, a fire station.

The Regional Headquarters, Fire Station turnout rooms and Engine Rooms are entirely built from Cross Laminated Timber and Glu-Laminated Timber grown locally, underpinning the building’s unique material character. The building is a facility comprising 3 new purpose-built buildings and alterations and additions to an existing 1950’s Art Deco Fire Station. The original Engine bays from the Art Deco brick building have been converted into a generous space open to the community.

It provides the new entry to the entire facility, a venue for community information events, and a central unifying element within the site, tying the new buildings together and offering a common space for staff interaction.

Photography by Christopher Frederick Jones, Baber Studio