This project is the design-build for a 67,800 sf bus storage and service facility to provide indoor storage for 36 GO Transit double-decker buses with provisions for a future expansion. The facility includes a quick service lane consisting of an automated hybrid bus wash and an indoor fueling service bay, an inspection pit bay with pit jack, a flat service bay, and associated storage and support spaces.
The administration portion of the facility consists of a bus dispatch centre, safety and training office, meeting room, drivers’ lounge, lunch room, fitness room, and wash room / change rooms with a locker area. The site accommodates exterior bus circulation, outdoor employee and service vehicle parking, a septic and leach field, and a radio tower within an enclosed compound. The project has been awarded LEED Gold Certification.
- Location
- East Gwillimbury, ON
- Completion Status
- 2014
- Client
- GO Transit
- Surface Size
- 67,800 sf
- LEED Certification
- LEED Gold
- Key Personnel
- Shawn Strasman, Liz Soo-Strasman
- Project Types
- Transit, Industrial, Design-Build
Glazing was strategically used throughout the project. .An expanse of glazing at the front entrance offers a visual glimpse into the bus storage area to provide queues of the internal function of the building. The dispatch and lunch rooms overlook an exterior patio at the front entrance. This entrance patio doubles as an outdoor staff amenity area and includes a feature circular planter wide enough for seating, inviting use and interaction amongst staff. Patterning of coloured paving in the patio area emphasizing this social space and distinguishes it from the expansive grey concrete roadway. Skylights throughout the building enliven the interior work environment.
In order to accommodate bus circulation while making provision for future expansion, SAI relocated the internal bus circulation drive to provide an expansive area to facilitate 6 future indoor storage bus lanes, accommodating 24 buses.
In the interim, the space reserved for the expansion was seeded and further animated by retaining the excavated soil from the site and sculpted into grassy hills, creating an interesting green landscape which the staff could enjoy.
