Taking a creative and sustainable approach to designing bus operations facilities
Designing a sustainable transit operation and maintenance facility in the middle of the desert isn’t just smart, it’s necessary. With extreme summer temperatures and 300 days of sun, an energy efficient building was top of mind when considering design practices. Our goal with the City of Tempe’s East Valley Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility was to minimize environmental impact and reduce energy consumption of buildings while contributing to the health of the occupants.
Some of the design elements used in the buildings include orienting the two major buildings along an east-west axis to take advantage of proper solar orientation, using highly-reflective roofing membrane, bus washing area that reclaims and reuses 100% of available water, and more. Because of the sustainable strategies used during construction, this project became the first bus maintenance and operations facility in the nation to be certified as a LEED Gold facility.
In all, the facility includes administrative offices, operations/driver facilities for over 500 bus operators, a 78,250 square-foot bus maintenance building.
At a Glance
- Offices
- Awards
- Environmental Excellence Award, Valley Forward
- IIDA P.R.I.D.E. Award Southwest Chapter Design Competition, Award of Merit for Environmental Design
- Women in Transportation Innovation Award, Phoenix Chapter
Ken Anderson, Vice President, Buildings, Civic Sector Leader
Architecture has the ability to speak to the human soul. We have a responsibility with every project to create innovative, resilient spaces that connect people to the greater spirit of living.
Each project is so unique, I try to create spaces that tell a story about the ‘place’ developed from the goals of the client and the specificity of the site.
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