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One of the busiest buildings used by the drivers who pilot TriMet buses around Portland was also one of the public transportation agency’s most outdated.

The building on Center Street is supposed to serve as a home away from home for the bus operators. But after 20 years without an upgrade, the building seemed anything but. Bright orange carpet covered the floors, bland gray lockers lined the walls, and dark spaces sucked up light in the building.

So when the opportunity came to remodel the building as part of work on the Portland-to-Milwaukie light-rail project, TriMet decided to try a new approach by involving bus drivers, manager and agents 鈥� the very people who used the building the most 鈥� in the redesign.

鈥淲e wanted to take a whole new approach in how we looked at our operating basis,鈥� said Shelly Lomax, TriMet’s executive director of transportation.

For most of the building the agency relied on a traditional design approach, working with Eugene-based Pivot Architecture. But TriMet and Pivot felt the upgrade for the first-floor areas used most often by bus operators required a fresh set of eyes, said Harriet Cherry, a Pivot principal. So they turned to Ziba Design, a Portland firm that bills itself as a 鈥渄esign and innovation consultancy.鈥�

Working closely with Pivot, Ziba’s team began interviewing users of the first-floor spaces.

鈥淲e spoke with employees, drivers, upper managers, trainers, anyone who operates in that space,鈥� said Cale Thompson, Ziba’s creative director. 鈥淥ur goal was to understand the intent of the use of the area and the needs.

Through the information gathering phase, for example, Ziba’s team learned that the first-floor space functioned in several different ways on a daily basis, Thompson said.

The building needed to provide a transition zone for operators as they either prepared to start a shift or head home after the work day. For some operators, that transition time meant chatting with colleagues. For others, it meant a quiet place to read or listen to music.

鈥淭wice a day, the drivers are transitioning. Sometimes it’s been a really rough day, and they’re expected to make a transition to 鈥榬egular me’ after being out in the field,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淥ne guy said he would sit in his car and listen to music for 10 or 15 minutes, but there weren’t spaces for that.鈥�

The building also needed to provide space for personal time for operators who might be on a break between shifts. One operator, for example, lived two hours away from the facility. So he preferred to stay on site if he had a break shorter than four hours.

鈥淲e took each of those insights and immediately tried to turn it into an opportunity,鈥� Thompson said.

TriMet also had asked Ziba to a find a way to open up the working environment, putting managers and station agents in closer contact with operators while also providing spaces where private meetings could be held.

To fulfill that request, Ziba removed the glass partition that walled in station agents and kept them separated from the drivers, increasing communication. Managers were taken out of what Lomax described as 鈥渓ittle, dark offices in the back.鈥�

For managers who need to hold private conversations with employees, Ziba came up with what Thompson calls a 鈥渇ishbowl鈥� area. The glass-walled room allows for quiet conversations while also maintaining contact with the rest of the first-floor area.

While a significant portion of the first-floor remodel called for serious design work, other areas were revamped with simpler fixes.

One area, for example, was plastered with communication 鈥� fliers and notices 鈥� that no one read. TriMet figured it was because the area was too dark. After talking to drivers and agents, though, Ziba learned that no one checked the space because the information was all outdated, year-old information. A simple tweak of procedure helped solve the problem.

Even though the user needs for the first floor were varied, they all contained a common thread, according to Thompson.

鈥淭here was a high level of ownership,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was kind of a one-for-all (mindset).鈥�

At a time when employers are increasingly finding that workforces are transient and short-term focused, TriMet is an anomaly. Thompson and his team learned that many TriMet employees are married to each other. They met three generations of women from a single family 鈥� grandmother, mother and daughter 鈥� who all work for the agency. Those bonds create a unique work environment that also created a unique environment for designing a project, according to Thompson.

鈥淚 think we were blown away by 鈥� the shared sense of commitment,鈥� he said.

Pivot Architecture’s team also found the experience of working on the TriMet facility 鈥� and with Ziba 鈥� eye-opening.

鈥淶iba’s an unusual company; they look at things differently,鈥� Cherry said. 鈥淲e learned a lot working side by side with them. We learned different ways of asking questions (of clients and building users).鈥�