Howard University students imagine new life for New Bedford firehouse

On a sunny day in the heart of New Bedford, three college students tried filming a video for class.

“Hi, I'm Jai, ” said sophomore Jai Edward Blyden.

“I'm Raeesah,” said senior Raeesah Amegankpoe.

“I'm Trey,” said senior Trey Turner.

Then in unison: “And we are team --,“ they began, but broke into laughter before they could finish.

“I just totally blanked,” Turner said, smiling.

They’re trying to learn what it would take to restore the building’s exterior, reusing everything they can, and redesign its interior, with a focus on modern, affordable apartments.

They’re participating in a program called the Envision Resilience Challenge, which brings together community members, city planners, and college students in climate vulnerable areas.

“Let me try this one more time,” Bylden said. After the group successfully introduced themselves, he prepared for a solo.

“Built in 1892, the Hillman [Street] Firehouse is a representation of New Bedford's best and bravest men who saved countless lives and fought ferocious fires to keep the town safe and secure,” Bylden said to the camera.

The red brick building — a Romanesque Revival — has boarded up windows, a crumbling facade, and perimeter fence. It’s been vacant for almost 30 years. But the Howard University students see hints of the firehouse’s former glory.

They point up at floral motifs in the brick, and a small tower on the back corner that makes the building look like a castle.

“It has a lot of charm,” Blyden said.

As cars passing cars play music, neighbors call out to each other, and church bells chime, Amegankpoe explained the cornerstone of the project is learning how to design the building so that it actually creates more energy than it uses.

“Our design goals are to generate, advocate and provide a new opportunity for the Hillman Street firehouse,” she said.

A new generation of architecture students is facing a reality that climate change will radically alter how buildings are conceived, and they’re the ones who will have to find solutions. But first, they have to learn how. And this unique building in New Bedford offers a perfect test case.

The building and construction sector is responsible for about 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. So it’s essential for students to learn what it takes to knock that number down.

“We're working with three big goals,” said Nea Maloo, assistant professor at Howard University’s College of Engineering and Architecture. “What will create the equity we want? What will create energy efficiency? What will create regeneration?”

Every material that went into this building 130 years ago costs carbon.

Consider, Maloo said, what it took to manufacture, transport, and assemble just one brick.

“Literally it's ridiculous if you start adding the carbon,” she said. “[But] if I can reuse that brick for another hundred years, then it is so worth it.”

New Bedford itself stands as an emblem of vulnerability to climate change. A recent report from the Trustees of Reservations found sea levels around the South Coast city are projected to rise more than 2 feet in 25 years.

Maloo said she wants hope for the firehouse to represent hope for our planet.

“When you revive something, when you layer future on history,” she said, “it becomes present. And it's the most beautiful thing.”

The Howard students are learning how to divide the building into as many as 9 apartments with one or two bedrooms each.

They talk about how, in the next phase of the building’s life, they could replace a gas heating system with solar panels and electric heat pumps. Then they could make sure the building has a tighter envelope, so less of that heat leaks out.  

Senior Journey O'Neal said they can even use that little tower as a focal point, visible for miles around.

“Hopefully, we can use the top of it as a sort of monitor,” he said, “where you could get a great view of the rest of the community.”

Ultimately, though, O’Neal and the others see the project as a model for strengthening the community.

“I really want our structure to be of a high standard, in terms of bringing people together in housing where people can feel very comfortable, and their kids can grow up and they can be established and be successful,” O’Neal said.

The Howard students, who’ve met repeatedly with local leaders to guide their process, have until April to finalize their design concept.

At that point, they’ll travel to Denver to present it and compete against other collegiate teams at the Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, through the U.S. Department of Energy.

They’ll also share the results with a local architect who’s working on a real-life project to save the firehouse. She could even use some of their ideas in her own plan.

Finally, they hope to return to New Bedford to share their vision of transforming a 19th century firehouse into a 21st century model of sustainability.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by CAI.