Among recent SoCal developments, arguably the one with most long-term impact is the $184M, HOK and Parsons Brinckerhoff-designed Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), combining transportation and mixed uses (retail, office) on a 16-acre site in the heart of Anaheim. HOK director of design Ernest Cirangle(photographed enjoying recent snowfall) tells us that besides being a place that 40 million people pass through annually, ARTIC needed to be an iconic, gateway image for the region. The design draws inspiration from some of the great transit facilities of the past, including grand 19th-century railroad stations and the elegant, light-filled southern California airship hangars of the early 20th century.

Yet ARTIC will be a fully modern, 21st-century structure, Ernest adds, accommodating 10 different kinds of transportation, including various rail, bus, and taxi services, as well as bicycles and pedestrians. (We're still trying to guess the rest. No, jet pack doesn't count.) Parsons Brinckerhoffs Virginia Tanzmann tells us that the three-level terminal building, which will be LEED Platinum, includes steel framing, glass cladding, and the same material (ETFE) as the 2008 Olympics Water Cube for maximum energy efficiency.