This Fire Station In Italy Looks Like A Supervillain’s Secret Base – Design You Trust

This Fire Station In Italy Looks Like A Supervillain’s Secret Base


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

Recently, this fire station in the northern part of Italy went viral. Despite having been built a decade ago, it started gaining more and more attention after one person on Reddit compared it to a villain hideout. We must admit, though, it does look sort of villainy. But it wasn’t built inside a cave just for the sake of Bond movie aesthetics. As the farmable land in the Alps is scarce and the restrictions on non-traditional architecture are rigid, the architects have come up with an ingenious solution.

More: Bergmeisterwolf Architekten h/t: boredpanda


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

In fact, this aesthetically-pleasing fire station in a small Italian town was built to save the land. In this alpine area, the land is especially scarce, so the local community decided that it would be best for the station to be built in a mountain, or a 300-foot cliff of sheer rock, to be more precise.


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

To carry out the project, the people of the small town of Margreid hired Bergmeisterwolf, a Northern Italian architecture firm with offices in Italy and Austria.


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

The architects began by blasting three caverns into the cliff and connected them with crisscrossing tunnels. Two of the former became the garages, while the third one acts as the administrative part of the fire station.


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

Not only does the design of the building look striking, but it is also very ergonomic as the mountain provides natural insulation for the building. The temperature in the groundmass averages around 55 degrees when the outside temperature is about 14F. Only one of the three caverns had to be insulated manually.


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

Inside the building, the architects built a curving concrete wall connecting the three caves, to protect the firefighters from falling rocks. The black color of the concrete was chosen to evoke the impression of burnt wood and was achieved by mixing beech coal dust into the aggregate.


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett


Jürgen Eheim, Ullrich Egger, and Günter Richard Wett

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Abandoned Space Observatory in Puerto Rico
Beautiful Abandoned Fairy Tale House as the Quintessence of What's Going On
Stunning Moon Dragon Is A Fairytale-Like Tiny House That Goes Off-Grid
The Whale: A New Touristic Attraction In Norway, That Will Tell The Stories Of The Majestic Sea Creature Through Art, Science, And Architecture
Hundreds Of Rainbow Glass Panels Emit A Rotating Kaleidoscope In A Playful Chinese Kindergarten
Slinningsbålet: The Battle For The Biggest Bonfire In The World
Retired Ladies Live Their Dreamlife In A Cosy Forest House Designed By A Japanese Architect
Accidents Waiting To Happen Thanks To These Architects And Designers
Real Size Replica Of The Noah's Ark Opens At Kentucky Theme Park
Inside The Crumbling Luxury Mansions Left Abandoned On London’s Billionaires’ Row
Stunning Photos Of The Notre Dame Cathedral Covered By Sandbags During The World War I
Taj Miami: How to Live Like a Boss for $4,199,000
The Surrealist Cube House as Mountain Retreat
Intimate Home In Tokyo Resembles A Kangaroo Pouch
This House Is Currently Listed for $828K In Queens, NY Right Now
The "Suburban House" Project
Swim 115 Feet Above London in the World’s Only See-Through Sky Pool
Futuristic Architectural Dreamscapes by Javier Valero
Stunning See-through Church Is Made From Stacked Weathered Steel
Valparaiso: Street Art From South America’s Most Unusual City
Beautiful Photos of Fiat X1/9, One of the First Truly Affordable Mid-Engine Sports Cars
Local Gas Station Makes Whole Town Laugh With Their Hilarious Signs
Vertical Garden By Patrick Blanc in Madrid, Spain
Wood Bridge In Netherlands