Next week’s Greenbuild Conference & Expo in Los Angeles will include its first-ever program specifically for an infrastructure project, the Expo Light Rail Phase 2, which completes the public transit connection between L.A. and Santa Monica, Calif.
The 6.6-mile project is an extension of the existing 80-station Metro Rail system across L.A. County. The extension adds seven at-grade stations between Culver City and Santa Monica.
Phase 2 has been designed to minimize their environmental impact. This is the first transit project—and, at more than $700 million, the largest project at contract value—to achieve Envision Platinum certification from the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure.
Administered by ISI, Envision consists of a broad range of criteria that address a project’s impact on the surrounding community and environment, technical considerations regarding materials and processes, and other critical choices spanning the project’s lifecycle.
A joint venture between Skanska and Steve P. Rados Construction started this project in 2012. The extension opened on May 20, 2016. The rail line now connects the city of Los Angeles to its beaches in approximately 46 minutes. The system also integrates with other means of transit, such as buses and nearly five miles of parallel bike paths.
Skanska USA Civil has committed that, by 2020, all of its projects will seek Envision certification.
Greenbuild attendees will be able to tour the project at 8 a.m. on Monday, October 3.
The total cost of Expo Light Rail Phase 2 was $1.6 billion, funded in large part by Measure R, passed in 2008, a 30-year, half-cent sales tax increase that kickstarted a public transit construction boom. When the Metro’s Regional Connector subway is completed, around 2021, Expo will link East Los Angeles to downtown Santa Monica.
Related Stories
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Slash energy consumption in data centers with liquid-based ‘immersive-cooling’ technology
A new technology promises to push the limits of data center energy efficiency by using liquid instead of air to cool the servers.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Beyond the bench: Meet the modern laboratory facility
Like office workers escaping from the perceived confines of cubicles, today’s scientists have been freed from the trappings of the typical lab bench, writes Perkins+Will's Bill Harris.
| Oct 1, 2014
4 trends shaping the future of data centers
As a designer of mission critical facilities, I’ve learned that it’s really difficult to build data centers to keep pace with technology, yet that’s a reality we face along with our clients, writes Gensler's Jackson Metcalf.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 19, 2014
Smithsonian Institution opens LEED Platinum lab facility
The Charles McC. Mathias Laboratory will emit 37% less CO2 than a comparable lab that does not meet LEED-certification standards.
