The Decatur Minute

Sun Tracker at Fire Station #2

Decatur’s Fire Station No. 2 was re-opened in June 2009.  The building is on track to receive LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building conserves water, employs recycled materials and energy-efficient systems, and uses natural light throughout.  The aluminum and glass tower at Fire Station No. 2 not only supports the station’s solar hot water system, but also acts as a “sun-tracker.”

A large red glass “2” is suspended in the tower’s center.  The sun projects the “2” across the tower’s face on clear days during the fall, winter, and spring seasons of the year.  The big red “2” supplements the conventional building signage in establishing the station in the Oakhurst community and helps identify the station in the City of Decatur Fire Department.  The “2” has not been visible since the buildings’ opening.

A blue glass sliver lies across the open top of the tower and projects a band of blue light from the sun that pivots across the tower’s glass face in correspondence to the hour of the day. The blue glass shaft is the tower’s “gnomon,” which is like the raised triangle on a traditional sundial. The general passage of time can be sensed by the changing angle of the blue band, with noon being a roughly vertical projection during standard time.

When the sun peaks out again, head over to Oakhurst and see the sun-tracker for yourself!