ABSTRACT
Tempe Transportation Center is located near a trailhead at the foot of Tempe Butte. Hikers who ascend the trails to the top of the butte get a panoramic view of the Phoenix metropolitan area: the Valley of the Sun. Besides offering a good starting point for a hike up the butte, Tempe Transportation Center is a real transportation hub. The cooling effect represented by significantly lower daytime temperatures would more than compensate for the slightly higher roof membrane temperatures at night. On the south side, the sun is controlled by deep overhangs, extending out from a curtain wall that is pulled back from the face of the building. The east side, therefore, is bathed in sun until one hour past noon. As the name of the “valley” suggests, sun plays a dominant role among the environmental forces that plants, animals, people and buildings must relate to.
