Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) Intermodal Transfer Station
Sarasota, Florida
The team of Architects Design Group / FleishmanGarcia Architects was selected by the County Board of Commissioners to design a new Bus Transfer / Intermodal Station near the County's Services Complex on Cattlemen Road. The project is part of a Master Plan for redevelopment of County facilities at the Cattlemen Road location which is also planned to include a new Emergency Operations Center. The Intermodal Transfer Station is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration.
The Intermodal Transfer Station will accommodate six (6) buses at a new passenger loading platform. The site will also accommodate Greyhound Buses and taxi service. ADG has designed a flexible semi-circular one-way in/ one-way out bus circulation system. Passengers have the ability to load directly from a "park-like" loading platform. Accommodations on the platform provide access to up-to six (6) buses, restroom facilities, an administrative office and driver's lounge. Ticketing and routes utilize LEED signage and a route/ticketing kiosk.
The project site redevelops an existing County parking lot, transforming it into an urban "pocket park", utilizing concepts and standards of "New Urbanism". The design team also incorporates CEPTED (Crime Presentation through Environmental Design) principals in the site design. The project will be submitted to the US Green Building Council and is designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification for New Construction.
School District of Osceola County Transportation Operations Facility
School District of Osceola County, Florida
The School District's Bus Transport System Operations and Maintenance facility is located on a 28 acre site. The program is dominated by service areas and parking requirements for a fleet of 240 buses. The 65,000 square foot building provides discrete functional activity zones including: Administration Offices, Bus Driver Assembly / Activity Support Core, Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance Area and Bus Fueling and Wash Areas.
The building is designed as a simple "wedge" shaped horizontal bar located in response to solar orientation, allowing day lighting and prevailing breezes to assist with ventilation of the maintenance bays. The design effectively zones the site into separate vehicle circulation patterns. Functionally, the building is zoned by activity from Administration to Maintenance. This facility was recognized by the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as the recipient of a 2002 Design Excellence Award.
Sarasota Bus Transfer Facility
Sarasota, Florida
The downtown Sarasota Bus Transfer Facility serves the Sarasota County Area Transit's (SCAT) need to provide a recognizable, highly efficient bus station for a growing network of routes. ADG served as the expert design consultant to the architect of record, Seibert Architects of Sarasota, Florida. The concept for the station is an evolution of ADG's highly successful projects in Downtown Daytona Beach for VOTRAN and Downtown Orlando for Lynx (formerly Tri-County Transit).
The greatest design challenge was adapting a tight site adjacent to the existing Sarasota City Hall. ADG working closely with SCAT planning personnel and site engineers, devised an innovative approach to routing busses along parallel one-way access/egress routes. The result is a highly efficient layout that allows safe boarding for passengers and vehicle access/egress with limited vehicle-pedestrian conflict. The facility provides seating, shade and ventilation under a broad high-tech canopy. All structure is above the canopy, successfully resolving the issue of pigeon roosting. The facility incorporates CEPTED principles for security in a dense urban setting. Signage is tied directly to a route and ticket-purchase kiosk.
VOTRAN Bus Passenger Facility
Volusia County, Florida
ADG initially conducted a Feasibility Study for the Volusia County Mass Transit Authority and (VOTRAN) and the Urban Mass Transit Authority (U.M.T.A.). This Phase I element considered the potential utilization of a parcel of land in downtown Daytona, Florida for the site of a County multi-modal transportation facility.
The complex is designed to accommodate future additional capacity of the site in relationship to a phased development. The Authority operates a variety of vehicles and consideration was given to both varying vehicle size and operating characteristics. The site supports approximately 20 transit vehicles in addition to on-site employee parking and designated vehicle spaces for commercial taxi service.
The study concluded with a detailed construction cost estimate to insure that the design could be constructed within the budgetary limitations established by the client and with the funding levels mandated by UMTA, resulting in a successful grant award for the complex. The complex was subsequently constructed and has been the recipient of a State of Florida Design Arts Award.
Orlando Multi-Modal Transportation
City of Orlando, Florida
The facility located in downtown Orlando replaces the existing series of shelters which had become out-moded as a new fleet of buses was brought into the system, coupled with increased ridership. Funded jointly by the Urban Mass Transit Administration, the State of Florida, local counties and municipalities, the terminal design was conceived to provide shelter for 20 buses and related riders.
To provide a "column-free" design, Architects Design Group designed two major trusses which span 225 feet and are supported by stainless steel columns at each end. The complex includes an administrative/dispatch center with video and audio monitoring of the terminal section. The structure also contains public restrooms, information and dispatch centers, a drivers waiting/lounge and restroom facilities and storage space.
The trusses are located above the roof level to allow increased height for buses and additionally serve as sculptural elements when seen from the nearby interstate highway running parallel to the site. The facility is designed to accommodate a "pulse-scheduling system," i.e., all 20 buses will simultaneously enter the terminal, unload and load then depart at the same time. This process is anticipated to occur initially twice each hour, increasing as demand requires.
This facility has been extensively published both nationally and internationally. It has been awarded the Florida Award of Design Excellence as well as numerous state and regional awards from the American Institute of Architects.
