Located in the City of Kent, in Washington, the ShoWare Center is a 154,000-square-foot multipurpose arena that is home to the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team as well as a regional venue for sports, entertainment, concerts and trade shows. Designed by Seattle-based LMN, it was awarded LEED® Gold-NC (new construction) certification this week.

“It was exciting to be given the opportunity to help advance sustainable approaches in a new market sector” notes LMN Design Partner Mark Reddington. “Event centers in particular present a significant need for creative and ambitious water and energy efficiency measures as well as responsible environmental choices. In achieving LEED® Gold, we have created a model of high performance sustainable design for other spectator sports and events facilities to emulate.”

A former side street just off South State Street in Chicago received a beautiful makeover, thanks to a spring-like sculptural grove designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

RCH transformed Quincy Court, a remnant of an old downtown street, into an engaging gathering place for Chicagoans and visitors.
 Using bold graphic forms, they provided canopy elements, a variety of seating configurations, and hardscape improvements to the half-block space.

Quincy Court and adjoining properties were acquired by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide added security and future expansion for the federal government’s downtown Chicago campus. The more immediate goal was to upgrade the look and feeling of the space to make it more appealing for public use.

Featured here on Archinnovations.com back in August of last year, Rafael Viñoly Architects’ expansion of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, located at the intersection of Brooklyn Avenue and St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, has been officially certified LEED Silver, making it New York City’s first LEED-certified museum. In addition, it has been awarded a 2009 Building Brooklyn Award in the “Institutional” category from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Real Estate and Development Committee.

The Rosa Parks Transit Center, a new multimodal facility in downtown Detroit, has been completed. The $22.5 million project was designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) on behalf of the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT)

Located at Michigan and Cass Avenues, the Rosa Parks Transit Center is a 25,000-square-foot indoor facility with over two acres of exterior transit access. It enables customers to make connections to 21 DDOT bus routes, the SMART suburban bus system, Transit Windsor for international connections, and taxi access in a single downtown transportation hub. It also provides pedestrian connectivity to the Detroit People Mover stations at Michigan and Times Square, and was planned to eventually connect to the city’s future light rail transit system. The center offers travelers such services as on-site security, restrooms, information booth, cashier’s office, café, retail and automatic ticket vending.

The 736,000-square-foot Palomar Medical Center West, a 360-bed hospital under construction in northern San Diego County, had its ceremonial steel-frame topping out ceremony on July 10, 2009.

Regarded as perhaps the greenest and most advanced hospital ever designed, Palomar Medical Center West is foremost a garden hospital, infused extensively by natural light and plantings—including a 2.5-acre green roof and public terrace, placed atop the surgical wing.

The Los Angeles office of HOK, a global architecture design firm, and Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization, announced its combined team was selected by the Anaheim City Council and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to design phase one of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). The 66,000-square-foot structure features an iconic 180-foot archway offering expansive skyline views and will stand out as a landmark throughout the region.

The intermodal transportation hub is a sustainable transportation facility linking commuter and regional rail service as well as intercity bus, taxi and local transit. Future phases will expand the center to accommodate California high-speed rail to destinations such as San Francisco and Sacramento and serve as the terminus for the super-speed train between Las Vegas and Southern California.