flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

HRT Transit Center: The Ambience of a Park in an Efficient Bus Terminal

Sponsored Content Transit Facilities

HRT Transit Center: The Ambience of a Park in an Efficient Bus Terminal

Whether building architecture or catching a bus, everyone’s happy when things run right on schedule.


By ALPOLIC | June 13, 2016

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) Norfolk Transit Center, Norfolk, Virginia. ALPOLIC®/PE in SMX Silver Metallic Finish. Photographed by Chris Cunningham Photography.

When three concepts were presented for a new bus terminal and transfer station to serve the Downtown Norfolk area of Coastal Virginia, Michael Schnekser fully expected the public to support the most conservative option.

Schnekser, a principal at Tymoff+Moss Architects, was part of the team presenting the options. He was astounded at the support for an unfamiliar but exciting new approach to designing a transportation hub. “As an architect, particularly in Norfolk,” Schnekser says, “it really reinvigorated me. If you know the region, we’re still trying to free ourselves from the shackles of Jefferson. If it doesn’t have brick and a pitched roof and a white column outside, then it’s not any good. It’s a very conservative region.”

By the end of the public process, Schnekser recalls, “We had 98 percent approval. To have the public respond that way was unbelievable. It was really rewarding.” Probably the reason for the public’s enthusiastic support is that the design makes sense on so many levels.

A Park-Like Setting with a Functional Design

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) serves Norfolk and several other cities in the surrounding region. The new bus terminal and transfer station was built by the city of Norfolk and is leased to HRT. It replaces a transit hub that Schnekser describes as “literally a three acre circle of asphalt, next to a big road” – not a pleasant place to wait for your next bus, let alone just hang out and enjoy the surroundings.

The new terminal, by contrast, is designed to provide the comfort and interest of an urban park. “Boy, that would be really nice to get out of the bus on a hot day,” Schnekser explains, “and instead of being surrounded by acres of blacktop to have the shade of a tree, a bird up above some bushes over there, and a bench to sit and eat my sandwich or read my book while waiting for my next bus.”

Architecture by the Numbers

Kori Nichols is a project engineer at Roof Services Corporation, the firm that fabricated and installed the ALPOLIC® materials used to create the canopy as well as the customer service desk. She recalls the canopy as being an extremely complex project.

“There were, I think, 1,010 panels,” Nichols explained. She went on to describe how she and her assistant carefully numbered each panel according to its location. “With over a thousand panels it could have been easy to skip a number. It took us two or three weeks just to double and triple-check ourselves. You’d think it’s an easy thing, but it’s not.”

A Perfect Fit – How Easy Is That?

“Working with ALPOLIC® Materials is easy”, Nichols adds. “They’re a very good company. They’re actually in our backyard... if they’ve got that material on the floor we can go pick it up within 24 hours.” 


Whether building architecture or catching a bus, everyone’s happy when things run right on schedule. See more photos of the HRT Transit Center and other projects.

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) Norfolk Transit Center, Norfolk, Virginia. ALPOLIC®/PE in SMX Silver Metallic Finish. Photographed by Chris Cunningham Photography.

Related Stories

Glass and Glazing | Jun 4, 2015

Construction of record breaking glass-bottom bridge nearly complete in China

Designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, the white bridge is meant to look as if it is “disappearing into the clouds.”

Fire and Life Safety | May 27, 2015

7 bold applications and innovations for fire and life safety

BD+C’s roundup features colorful sprinklers for offices, hotels, museums; a fire-rated curtain wall at a transit hub in Manhattan; a combination CO/smoke detector; and more.

Transportation & Parking Facilities | May 20, 2015

Federal Highway Administration releases guide for protected bike lanes

The guide consolidates lessons learned from practitioners designing and implementing separated bike lanes across the U.S.

High-rise Construction | May 6, 2015

Parks in the sky? Subterranean bike paths? Meet the livable city, designed in 3D

Today’s great cities must be resilient—and open—to many things, including the influx of humanity, writes Gensler co-CEO Andy Cohen. 

Transit Facilities | Apr 13, 2015

Winning design for Toronto ferry dock poised to become city’s new 'living room'

The winning submission features a spacious complex under a green roof, and is designed to attract all types of visitors, even those uninterested in riding the ferry.

Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015

14 projects that push AEC teaming to the limits

From Lean construction to tri-party IPD to advanced BIM/VDC coordination, these 14 Building Teams demonstrate the power of collaboration in delivering award-winning buildings. These are the 2015 Building Team Award winners.

Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015

Nation's first LEED-certified bus depot

A bus garage in Harlem shows that even the most mundane of facilities can strut its environmentally sensitive stuff.

Mixed-Use | Apr 7, 2015

$100 billion 'city from scratch' taking shape in Saudi Arabia

The new King Abdullah Economic City was conceived to diversify the kingdom's oil-dependent economy by focusing more in its shipping industry.

Structural Materials | Mar 30, 2015

12 projects earn structural steel industry's top building award

Calatrava's soaring Innovation Science and Technology Building at Florida Polytechnic University is among the 12 projects honored by the American Institute of Steel Construction in the 2015 IDEAS² awards competition. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Adaptive Reuse

Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens

The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.



Transit Facilities

Top 25 Transit Facility Construction Firms for 2023

The Walsh Group, Clark Group, Hensel Phelps, Skanska USA, and Hill International top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest transit facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes construction revenue for work related to bus terminals, rail terminals, and transit stations.


Transit Facilities

Top 40 Transit Facility Engineering Firms for 2023

AECOM, Jacobs, EXP, WSP, and Arup head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest transit facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes design revenue for work related to bus terminals, rail terminals, and transit stations.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021