http://www.constructiondigital.com/i...transit-center
San Francisco Transbay Transit Center
Bringing a culture of mass transit, sustainability and urban revitalization to downtown San Francisco
BY: l.clapper
Sep 27, 2010
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In August 2010, construction began on the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco, dubbed the “Grand Central of the West” and one of the city’s largest construction projects. Located near Mission and First Streets in the heart of downtown San Francisco, the project will be built on the former site of the Embarcadero Freeway on-ramps, which were destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The cost of the Transbay Transit Center and the Caltrain Downtown Rail Extension totals $4.185 billion.
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects as a cutting edge multi-modal transportation hub, the Transbay Transit Center will serve over 100,000 passengers per day and connect the eleven public transit systems of the Bay Area, including BART, Caltrain, Amtrak, Muni and Greyhound. It will also serve as the San Francisco station for the future California High Speed Rail. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) expects that the project will eliminate over 8,000 trips via automobile from the roadways of the Peninsula Corridor, ease congestion on highways 101 and I-280 and improve air quality.
DESIGN ELEMENTS
The design, selected at an international competition in 2007, incorporates elements of the natural environment to create a building that enhances the surrounding area. “We are very proud of our design for the Transbay Transit Center,” said Cesar Pelli, Senior Principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in a statement released in early August. “This will be a beautiful, functional and sustainable building for San Francisco.”
The Transbay Transit Center will feature a glass exterior with an earthquake-resistant concrete and steel structural frame. The glass, along with the 4,000-square-foot domed skylight that caps the 120-foot-tall light column, allows natural light to permeate through the building into the interior.
An urban park is planned on the top level of the transit center. The park design features walking paths, playgrounds, a 1,000-person performance venue, cafés, over a dozen gardens and a 1,000-foot-long fountain with jets that triggered by the movement of buses entering and exiting the transit center below.
The architects, seeking to achieve LEED Gold Certification, have incorporated several sustainable strategies into the design of the building. The urban park will capture and filter air and water pollutants through the vegetation and water management system. Further, the structure’s water management system will reuse grey water and manage stormwater, conserving over 9.2 million gallons of this precious resource every year.
A geothermal heat exchange system will be incorporated into the four-and-a-half city block foundation of the building. According to the architects, this system will be one of the largest geothermal installations in the world. Additionally, the structure also incorporates natural ventilation and lighting throughout most of the building.
PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA), along with the City and County of San Francisco, are managing the development of the Transbay Transit Center. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects was selected by the TJPA to design the project in 2007.
Webcor Builders is working with Obayashi Corp in a joint venture to build the center. Webcor submitted an estimate using Vico Software’s Virtual Construction Suite, a Building Information Modeling (BIM) program, to create an interactive model of the project. “We believe this is the first time such an integrated multi-dimensional process has been used on a major project in the United States,” said Jim Bedrick, Webcor’s Vice President of Virtual Building and Design, in a statement about the project.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The project is part of a revitalization effort to diversify and develop the local area. A 1,000-foot Transbay Tower will be built on the 48,000-square-foot parcel of land adjacent to the transit center. According to the statement released by the Pelli Clarke Pelli, bridges will be built to link the urban park of the transit center to the nearby buildings. “We want this to be a great transit center — one by which the city is perceived — but it must also be a great neighbor,” said Fred Clarke, Senior Principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in a statement in August.
The entire revitalization project — construction of the transit center, rail extension and redevelopment area — will create over 27,000 permanent jobs. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) has announced plans to develop the surrounding property into a high-density housing and commercial area. Of the 2,600 residential units expected to be built, over 35 percent will consist of affordable housing. According to the TJPA, the redevelopment project will, “serve as a model for transit-oriented development by providing market-rate and affordable housing in a prime, pedestrian-friendly environment where using a car is unnecessary, due to its close proximity to downtown employment, and safe and efficient transportation options.”
The Transbay Transit Center is expected to open in 2017.
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