As the largest single-stream recycling facility in the U.S., the $34-million Southern Nevada Recycling Center located on an 18-acre site in North Las Vegas, Nev., took six months to design, another six months to obtain permits and 12 months to build.

The 110,000-sq-ft recycling center, which wrapped up construction in November 2015, can handle 70 tons of material per hour. Designed to blend into the Mojave Desert environment,  the structure stands 40 ft tall to provide clearance and features translucent panels and overhangs to allow the building to receive daylight and minimize heat at the same time. Its design was enhanced by split-face, colored block used for its appearance, durability and suitability for the desert climate.

The pre-engineered steel building features 150-ft clear spans and a solar farm on the roof that produces 250 to 420 kilowatts of power per day. Contractors also integrated equipment installation into the construction phase.

Because final equipment layout and requirements were revised after work on the shell started, a co-design approach was key to building the structure envelope around the complex recycling equipment systems. From the start of design through the end of construction, team members coordinated efforts through weekly meetings attended by the owner, builder, architect and engineers.

BIM software allowed developers to manage design and construction, while the co-design process was considered the most effective way to meet costs, schedule and performance targets.

Other challenges included the discovery of an unknown existing gas line, union/non-union worker issues, lifting a garbage truck cab onto the second-floor learning center and a delayed electrical service caused by grid overload over the summer.

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