I66 Workers Facility

I66 Workers Facility

Fairfax, VA

The LEED Gold Certified I-66 Transfer Station is a Facility Building for the workers of the Fairfax County Waste Management System. The building sits on about 50’ of trash (a part of Mount Trashmore). The foundations are concrete caissons set on original soil about 60’ under ground. Methane gas from the decomposing materials is collected from the entire site and is used as the source of energy for heating.

Prior to this new facility, workers at the I-66 Transfer Station Complex in Fairfax County had been relegated to using a substandard facility for a break room, showers and lockers for several decades. Seeing the poor conditions, their management decided to provide them with a first class facility, not a lavish one, but one that would instill a sense of pride among these workers who handle and transport waste materials (garbage and trash).

The site is long and narrow – the workers arrive for work and park in the southern lot; move through the facility, where they change into their work clothes; then proceed to the trucks and equipment parked on the northern lot. This pattern of circulation occurs over four separate shifts for eighteen hours each workday.

We created two distinct areas – one for everyday uses on the bottom, and one for training and specialized activities on the top. The architect decided to make it a two story building and express the differences in program by rotating the upper level and by changing materials. The lower half has masonry bearing walls while the upper half is entirely steel frame and metal cladding. The overhanging upper floor provides shade for the lower floor and outside patio.

There are two openings between the floors that allow natural light to penetrate down to the Worker’s Hall from a light monitor on the roof. These openings also give a sense of connection and unity.

The Workers’ Hall is located off the circulation spine and is given the maximum amount of glass, with doors that lead out to a terrace for their frequent social events. The Training Room, which would ordinarily be an introspective space, also has ample windows to connect to the outside and relieve the tedium of being isolated in a classroom for hours at a time