LA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

This facility, owned and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation, is used for maintenance and parking of trash collection trucks. According to project architect Hoi Luc, “This facility is located on a new, expanded site. Our objective was to build a facility to the latest standards of the Bureau of Sanitation, while also coming up with a design that would be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.”

He explains: “Most of the buildings in the area use curved roof forms with wooden trusses. We decided to mimic the same roof form using steel instead of wood, for non-combustible construction.”

Three of the seven buildings on the site are open-type structures that utilize wide-span beams and curved metal roof decks formed using Curveline, Inc.’s proprietary crimp-curving process. The galvanized decking is left exposed and unpainted for aesthetic, cost and maintenance reasons.

A very interesting feature of these three buildings is a built-in clearstory that works with the curvature of the decks to create a natural venturi effect, constantly circulating the air to remove odors from the trash containers.  “This design takes advantage of the windy local conditions, providing a natural ventilating system that eliminates the cost of mechanical ventilation,” says Luc.

Luc also comments: “We were initially concerned about the deck being curved in another location instead of onsite, but it fit like a glove. In fact, the use of metal building materials helped to speed up construction.”