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Tour of the futuristic roof on Calif.'s high-speed rail station

The multimodal center features a specially designed roof constructed with ETFE, a lightweight polymer that allows natural light to enter the cavernous space.

October 8, 2014
Tour of the futuristic roof on Calif.'s high-speed rail station

HOK rendering

1 min to read


HOK rendering

ANAHEIM, Calif. —

An editor with Gizmodo took a tour of the almost-finished Anaheim Regional Transportation Intramodal Center (ARTIC) this week and saw how the station hopes to connect the 16-acre plot between Angel Stadium and the Honda Center with transit services and local businesses. The multimodal center features a specially designed roof constructed with ETFE, a polymer named ethylene tetrafluoroethylene that arcs over its exterior.

ETFE was selected by architects at HOK and engineers from Parsons Brinckerhoff precisely because of its sustainability qualities. It's far more lightweight than most other materials used for roofing, meaning the rest of the structure doesn't have to be bulked up to hold it. And it allows natural light to enter the cavernous space, saving on energy costs. If the building ever needs to be demolished, the roofing can be recycled, according to Gizmodo.

For the full story, click here.

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