The King County Recycling and Transfer Station in Factoria has earned a Best Project Award from Engineering News Record Northwest.

Engineering News Record Northwest is a regional industry publication focused on architecture and construction. The King County facility received the award in the 2018 Government/Public Building category.

Doug Chin, project manager at the King County Solid Waste Division, said the 70,00-square-foot transfer station, built in 2014, was selected in part because of the complexity of construction and the sustainable design features such as recycled content building materials, rainwater harvesting, and efficient energy and water use.

“It’s projected to save 1.3 million gallons of water each year,” Chin said.

The facility was open seven days a week during construction, which began on July 11, 2014. The old transfer station remained open while the new facility was built in phases to accommodate a smooth transition in operation.

“The way it was designed and built so it allowed the community to continue to use the facility while the construction was underway,” he said. “We transitioned to the new facility and it was done in a number of phases, switching roads, changing roadways… Then they tore down the old facility and put up Household Hazardous Waste facility.”

In a press release from King County, the project is cited as having a 95 percent diversion of construction and demolition materials for reuse, rather than sending all the debris to a landfill. The building is certified as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several categories, including energy use and air quality, according to the USGBC website. Based on the number of points achieved, a project then earns one of four LEED rating levels: certified, silver, gold or platinum.

With the recognition of the Best Project Award in the government buildings category, the transfer station is now nominated for an overall Project of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on Nov. 15.