San Francisco’s 1.3 million square foot Transbay Transit Center is expected to open in 2017 with a LEED Gold rating, writes Metropolis’ POV blog. While the building is expected to require lower amounts of energy than a similar conventional facility and help avoid the addition of CO2 emissions over the long-term, the real innovation may be in the water management system designed for the new center, which is expected to reduce water use on-site by 54 percent. The facility’s greywater and stormwater will be captured, filtered and reused through green infrastructure systems, including a 5-acre roof top park. In addition to improving downtown water conservation, this vision of multi-use infrastructure will also provide much-needed green space for downtown residents.  

The $4 billion center, designed by Atelier Ten, Pelli Clark Pelli Architects, and Adamson Associates, will also facilitate connections between multiple transportation options. The center writes that 11 transit systems across the Bay area will interconnect in the station, including AC Transit, BART, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, Greyhound, Muni, SamTrans, WestCAT Lynx, Amtrak, Paratransit, and future High Speed Rail line. Metropolis POV adds that the new center is expected to provide a more “immediate, eco-friendly, comfortable hub for public transportation in the Bay Area. It will also open the doors to a better form of transportation within the state.” The new facility will eventually accommodate more than 100,000 passengers every day and more than 45 million people per year.

These ambitious plans are a far cry from what was once there, says Metropolis POV. “A roof park, natural ventilation and light, plus the  use of geothermal energy are huge steps away from what the transit center once was. The old transit center, built in 1939, and described as drafty and dark, never fulfilled its potential. By the mid-20th century, its usefulness had already passed.”

In addition to the new facility, the city is also planning to create a new neighborhood with office towers, homes, and shops, some of which will look down upon the new green roof.

Read the article, take an interactive fly-through, and learn more about the project timeline.

Another major sustainable design innovation worth watching: the Oregon Sustainability Center, which is expected to be the largest net-zero “Living Building” in the U.S. when its completed. The building will produce 100 percent of its energy on site. Green roofs, bioswales, and pavements will be used to ensure there’s no stormwater runoff. The building’s “Living Machine” water re-use system will capture, cleanse and create potable water.

Image credits: (1) San Francisco Transbay Transit Center / Metropolis POV, (2) Transbay Transit Center Interactive Tour