flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Narrow site, broad vision: LA Metro Light Rail Operations & Maintenance Facility

Building Team Awards

Narrow site, broad vision: LA Metro Light Rail Operations & Maintenance Facility

Gold Award: A slender building site had direct implications for the design of this light-rail facility.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | June 8, 2017

Large skylights flood the maintenance area with natural light and turn what could have been a dark warehouse into a bright workspace. Chang Kim photograph.

Nine and a half acres may sound like adequate space for a 70,000-sf building, but when that acreage is shoehorned into a narrow corridor, problems can quickly arise. Such was the case for the LA Metro Division 14 Expo Light Rail Operations & Maintenance Facility.

To make the building site work, the design team needed to make as efficient use of the space as possible. Building spaces overlap over the rail yard and maintenance area and 34-foot-long moment frames span two tracks. Part of the building’s main hallway hangs over the maintenance area, as well.

To account for the OCS and pantograph and still meet California’s seismic requirements, open-span moment frames that allow train travel were used in the north-south direction in combination with brace frames in the other direction.

The design of the long, narrow building is more than just a product of its location. The facility goes beyond the basic functionality requirements of a typical operations and maintenance facility and promotes employee wellbeing and integrates into the surrounding neighborhood. The building incorporates plenty of natural light and is net-zero-energy ready and on track to attain LEED Gold certification.

Natural light played a huge role in the design team’s quest to incorporate the latest research in design for workplace wellbeing. Large skylights above the maintenance area fill the space with natural daylight while large roof vents naturally exhaust heated air. A floor-to-ceiling glazed curtain wall provides natural light and views to operations administrative offices, the control suite, and the operators room and amenities.

 

The site’s narrow dimensions heavily influenced the building’s design and led to the overlapping of some building spaces. Chang Kim photograph.

 

Building – Submitting firm, architect RNL Design Owner Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Structural engineer Nabih Youssef & Associates Structural Engineers MEP engineer Glumac

General Information – Size 70,000 sf Cost $100 million Construction time October 2011 to April 2016 Delivery method Design-bid- build

 

Return to the 2017 Building Team Awards landing page

Related Stories

Building Team Awards | Jun 8, 2017

Team win: Clemson University Allen N. Reeves Football Operations Complex

Silver Award: Clemson gets a new football operations palace, thanks to its building partners’ ability to improvise.

Building Team Awards | Jun 8, 2017

Missing link: Denver International Airport and Transit Center

Gold Award: A new mixed-use transit center fulfills Denver’s 28-year plan to improve access to the nation’s fifth-busiest airport.

Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017

Rising above adversity: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Gold Award: The Smithsonian Institution’s newest museum is a story of historical and construction resolve.

Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017

Justice league: United States courthouse

Gold Award: The Building Team for L.A.’s newest courthouse went way beyond what was expected.

Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017

Blurring the lines: University of Chicago North Residential Commons

Gold Award: The University of Chicago’s new Residential Commons is part campus, part community.

Building Team Awards | Jun 7, 2017

Rebuilding to heal: Sandy Hook Elementary School

Gold Award: Community involvement was paramount as Newtown, Conn., replaced the school where a mass shooting occurred.

Building Team Awards | Jun 6, 2017

Nerves of steel: 150 North Riverside

Platinum Award: It took guts for a developer and its Building Team to take on a site others had shunned for most of a century.

Building Team Awards | Jun 1, 2016

Multifamily tower and office building revitalize Philadelphia cathedral

The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral capitalizes on hot property to help fund much needed upgrades and programs.

Building Team Awards | Jun 1, 2016

Central utility power plant takes center stage at UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center

An undulating roof, floor-to-ceiling glass, and façade scheme give visual appeal to a plant that serves the 10-story medical center.

Building Team Awards | May 31, 2016

Gonzaga's new student center is a bustling social hub

Retail mall features, comfortable furniture, and floor-to-ceiling glass add vibrancy to the new John J. Hemmingson Center.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




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