Design Workshop's Lake Tahoe Office Wins Nevada ASLA Award for Centennial Plaza Transit Center Project

Firm Recognized for Site Planning and Landscape Architecture Work on Transportation Hub Designed as a City Landmark in Sparks, Nevada

25 April 2011

Lake Tahoe – Design Workshop, an international landscape architecture, land planning, urban design and strategic services firm with six offices in the U.S. and work spanning the globe, recently received a 2010 Merit Award from the Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for its project work on Centennial Plaza Transit Center. This award is among the highest local honors presented by ASLA.

Overview of Centennial Plaza Transit Center (Sparks, Nevada)
The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe Country (RTC) developed the project with a goal of increasing its transit mode share from 2 percent to 6 percent through improving bus operations and preparing for future growth. Design Workshop focused on site planning and landscape architecture elements of the project as a subconsultant on a multidisciplinary team led by Parsons Brinckerhoff—an engineering and construction management firm.

The three-acre site in Sparks was chosen for its rich railroading history as well as its proximity to a declining community. The plaza design includes distinctive structures, landscape elements and unique art forms, which reflect feedback from meetings with the community, media, and responsible agencies to ensure that the design respected the city’s heritage and redevelopment vision.

The Centennial Plaza Transit Center was designed to establish it as a city landmark as well as creating a modern transit center that reflects the character of the community, provides the opportunity for retail development, and accommodate anticipated growth for public and commercial transportation.

Highlights of the Centennial Plaza Transit Center:

• Promotes walkable neighborhoods through new walkways as well as access to existing paths.
• Features an iconic cowcatcher sculpture that makes the transit center a recognizable landmark.
• Strengthens and directs development toward existing communities by creating a forward-looking transportation infrastructure.
• Encouraged citizen and stakeholder participation in development decisions through numerous meetings, workshops and presentations with the involvement of more than 70 stakeholder groups.
• Promoted green building principles, elevated community awareness of sustainability issues, and developed as a LEED^® certified building

About Design Workshop
Founded in 1969, Design Workshop is an international landscape architecture, land planning, urban design and strategic services firm with six offices in the U.S. and work spanning the globe. The firm has been recognized with over 150 prestigious awards for its work in new communities, urban centers, resorts, public parks, golf courses and residences. The firm's philosophy challenges the project team to equally integrate and balance artistic vision, environmental sensitivity, community values and sound economics to create unique places that stand the test of time. It refers to this approach as DW Legacy Design®.