The Ben Franklin Transit Operations Center was developed as part of a planned expansion of BFT’s main campus in Richland, WA. The two-story facility supports the people who keep the Tri-Cities moving each day, creating a more efficient, healthy, and connected workplace for operations staff at the heart of the regional transit system.
Ben Franklin Transit
Designed to support drivers, schedulers, and operations staff, the new Operations Center prioritizes productivity, wellbeing, and long-term adaptability. It strengthens BFT’s ability to serve the region while centering the people who keep transit moving each day.
Built within the footprint of the former Operations facility, the project streamlined permitting and minimized site disruption. Positioned behind the Administration Building, the structure complements its scale while establishing a distinct identity through dark brick and refined fenestration, creating a cohesive and efficient campus presence.
Originally envisioned as a three-story building, the project was re-evaluated as circumstances shifted during the pandemic. In response to BFT’s desire to reduce square footage, the design team maintained the original footprint while removing the top floor. This decisive adjustment required minimal changes to the overall plan, preserving the core design concept and protecting the value of the original vision.
The result is a building that feels deliberate rather than reduced, demonstrating how flexibility and clear priorities can guide resilient design decisions.
Design Approach
Inside, the Operations Center is organized around clarity, efficiency, and comfort. Program spaces include open and private offices, dispatch areas, training and conference rooms, a commons with kitchen, and locker facilities. The interiors are straightforward and cost-effective, with strategies focused on high building performance, reduced resource consumption, and improved occupant health and productivity.
A modular planning strategy supports long-term adaptability. Acting as building blocks, three module types are sized to accommodate a conference room, two offices, or a grouping of workstations. This flexible system allows spaces to evolve over time while maximizing efficient use of the floorplate.
Between the Administration and Operations buildings, an underutilized grass and concrete patio was reimagined as a vibrant courtyard designed to encourage daily use. The refreshed landscape introduces texture, shade, and color through native basalt, small deciduous trees, local plantings, and patterned concrete pavers.
Enclosed on the north and south by perforated metal fencing inspired by regional agricultural and riparian histories, and framed by the two buildings on the east and west, the courtyard becomes an outdoor room at the center of campus life. Direct access from the Operations Commons and the Administration Building reinforces its role as a shared space for connection and respite.
The idea of connection—central to public transit itself—guided the interior design. Just as bus routes link riders to their environment, the building’s circulation paths act as internal thoroughfares, organizing movement and wayfinding throughout the facility. Business centers and vertical circulation serve as clear nodes along these routes.
Interior materials and forms draw from the surrounding landscape and culture, weaving in local sunset hues, native basalt textures, shrub-steppe patterns, and circular geometries inspired by nearby agricultural fields. In the Commons, circular acoustic clouds and pendant lights float overhead, transforming familiar regional forms into a welcoming environment for staff and visitors alike.
Together, these choices create a workplace that supports daily operations while grounding the building in the character and rhythms of the Tri-Cities—connecting people, place, and purpose through thoughtful, resilient design.
Work
