To start this again, but real space stations are also fuel tanks and have interstages and made of the same stuff as fairings.
A space / base station / submarine isn't the sum of its parts, it's the place it is used.
For a submarine to be a submarine, it has to be used sub, marine. Underwater. Unless it does goes underwater and is able to surface under its own volition, it's not a submarine, regardless of shape, intention or material of manufacture.
A base station is a ground installation used as a base of operations. You can make it out of Lego and it'd still be a base station, as long as it's used as a base of operations.
Same with a space station. It doesn't matter what it is made of. It is a way-station, in space.
A Space. Station.
