The composition of  extruded lines and concrete volumes appears almost untouched by age and remains an incredibly important part of contemporary architectural discourse. after a fire broke out and quickly spread on the 20th of july 1981, more than half of vitra's production facilities sustained serious damage, however, the destruction was seen as an opportunity to create a dynamic and expressive campus characterized by myriad architectural styles and distinguished by important works that expand the capabilities of architectural ideas. upon founding its very own company fire brigade, vitra commissioned hadid, still considered too daring and her vision too structurally complex, for the vitra fire house.
The realized building was a pivotal point in her career and stimulated the onslaught of her provocative and still-compelling work. the structure was distinguishable by a pointed lack of right angles and made manifest the idea of a frozen explosion-- the foundation of an architectonic signature comprised of dynamism and formal impossibility. the building itself is divided in two and creates a linear typology for an open plan with interior lines that behave like volumes and layer within themselves. drawing from the monumental tectonic weight of richard serra, the building sports steel room dividers that continue an illusion of spatial instability.
The overall effect of the intersecting concrete volumes is a sensation of energetic movement in almost tectonic proportions. mass is suspended on multiple scales, from the protruding roof to the cantilevered steps of the interior stair. while all lines meet in the center of the space and entrance, the two levels appear to slide past each other, with the upper dining hall seeming to race to a horizon line. the vitra fire station is credited as an exigent moment in zaha hadid's career, however, the reframed impression of space seems to have more wholly contributed to the possibilities of the built form and has made room for the extraordinary in architecture.