The 24,000 sf John W. Olver Transit Center, a Zero Net Energy Building, will not only function as an inter modal transit facility and central office but as an important element in the Town of Greenfield’s urban revitalization strategy. Establishing a balance between the progressive nature of the project and its historic New England context has been a key design concern for the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) and the region’s public. As a recipient of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, the Authority’s project seeks to revitalize the Greenfield, Massachusetts area and embrace the latest green technologies in a movement to reinvent itself. Charles Rose Architects worked with the FRTA through an iterative design and public meeting process to tie the new structure to adjacent buildings,streets, and the historic downtown through orientation, massing, and materials.

The building program includes a passenger waiting area, a community meeting room,and offices for the FRTA and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments(FRCOG.) The transit waiting area is flexibly designed to accommodate bus passengers as well as future rail passengers. The bus circulation is close to the building, taking advantage of the structure’s overhang for a partially covered drop-off. The turnaround for buses is located in the southeast corner of the site and encircles a bio-retention garden. This garden—along with the cafe garden and the entry plaza—are part of a larger effort to connect building and site as well as to provide natural, sustainable landscapes where there was previously asphalt.

Central to the project was the creation of a Zero Net Energy Building (ZNEB)—the first of its kind in the State of Massachusetts. A ZNEB project consumes less energy then it generates over the course of a year. Here, energy efficiency is achieved through the incorporation of super-insulation and low-transmission glazing. The building will also take advantage of passive solar technology, like solar wall and solar hot water systems to pre-heat air and water, so the building systems incur less demand. The building design will also employ a geothermal energy system, a biomass boiler, photovoltaic panels, and chilled beams.Although the FRTA is not seeking LEED certification, the building will be designed in an environmentally responsible manner, using using low-VOC finishes and recycled materials where possible.