Tahoe City Transit Center

Completed in the fall of 2012, the Tahoe City Transit Center (TCTC) represents a vital step toward achieving a more sustainable transportation network within the region. Located in Tahoe City, the TCTC incorporates:

• Bus loop for six regional buses
• Surface parking for 130 cars
• Transit facility with two restrooms, administrative space, built-in bike lockers, and an enclosed meeting area for up to 40 people

By configuring the facility as a bus loop, with buses loading and unloading on both sides, the facility’s footprint was able to be minimized. Shaped like a boat, with long wooden slats along the underside, the roof is supported by a few stone columns to allow views of the landscape to pass underneath.

Energy Conservation

A snow melt system around the edge of the roof gradually melts the snow, and a rainwater harvesting system collects the water in gutters, stores it in a 4,000-gallon cistern, and reuses it for irrigation and toilet flushing. The building conserves energy in a number of ways. 

• Laminated solar cells are integrated into the roof, supplying most of the facility’s peak load
• Operable windows and a clerestory facilitate natural ventilation
• Thermally massive walls, high-performance insulated glazing, and radiant heating further reduce energy consumption

Awards

The TCTC has received a number of awards, including:

• 2013 Small Project Award from the American Institute of Architects
• Declaration as one of the American Public Works Association’s 2013 Public Works Projects of the Year
• Overall Winner of the 2012 Western Red Cedar Architectural Design Awards

$68,000 in TOT funding was allocated to help pay for signage at the TCTC.