This month, the Portland International Airport (PDX) main terminal expansion opened to passengers. Designed by ZGF for the Port of Portland, the one-million-sf project doubles the capacity of PDX and enables the airport to welcome 35 million passengers per year by 2045.
With a nine-acre mass timber roof, the $2 billion terminal renovation-expansion is the largest mass timber project of its kind, according to a press statement from ZGF.
The new terminal aims to evoke the experience of walking through a Pacific Northwest forest. The terminal offers views of the airfield, abundant natural light, and interior landscapes that suggest the region’s natural beauty. Designed at a neighborhood scale, the project features intimate plazas with tree-lined retail concessions and plant-filled gathering places.
“Everybody loves Portland International Airport,” Gene Sandoval, ZGF partner, said in the statement. “We had a tall order to evolve a terminal that’s essentially multiple buildings pieced together since the 1950s—and double the capacity while designing an experience passengers and employees will love as much as the original.”
As the expansion’s centerpiece, the prefabricated wood roof spans the expanded lobby, check-in, and security areas. The 3.5 million board feet of wood for the roof—as well as wood concessions, flooring, and feature walls—was sourced from within a 300-mile radius of PDX and includes wood from small family-owned forests, nonprofits, and tribal nations.
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport. Photo: Ema Peter, courtesy ZGF](/sites/default/files/inline-images/10_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography%20.jpg)
The Port of Portland and ZGF decided to renovate and expand in place instead of building an entirely new terminal. This approach helped achieve schedule and time savings in addition to a 70% reduction in embodied carbon compared to building new. The airport remained fully operational throughout five years of phased construction.
“The design evokes the best of our region yet offers other airports a new model for how to expand and renovate in place to meet the travel demands of the future generations,” Sharron van der Meulen, ZGF managing partner, said in the statement.
While doubling capacity, the main terminal achieves a 50% reduction in energy use per square foot with an all-electric ground-source heat pump. With resilient design strategies, the terminal can withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
A second project phase, now underway, will finish in early 2026, providing more retail and dining amenities as well as exit lanes on the north and south sides of the terminal.
On the Building Team:
Client: Port of Portland
Architect of record and interior designer: ZGF
Structural engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers (primary), Arup
MEP engineer: PAE Engineers (primary), Arup
Geotechnical engineer: GRI
Civil engineer and airside planning: HNTB
General contractor: Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture
Pre-construction services: Turner Construction
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/01_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/02_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Dror%20Baldinger.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/03_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/04_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography%20.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/06_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography%20.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/07_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Dror%20Baldinger.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/08_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Dror%20Baldinger.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/11_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography%20.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/12_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Ema%20Peter%20Photography%20.jpg)
![Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport](/sites/default/files/inline-images/13_PDX%20Airport%20Main%20Terminal_Dror%20Baldinger.jpg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Concession%20Axon_PR_For%20Publication_EB%20Edits.png)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Overall%20Structure%20Axon.png)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/PDX_Enplaning_Poche_Final%20for%20Publication.png)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Prefabrication%20Sites.jpg)
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Roof%20Exploded%20Axon_PR_For%20Publication_EB%20Edits.png)
Related Stories
Airports | Aug 31, 2016
Aircraft manufacturing facility innovation from The Austin Company
Austin’s many innovations contributed to the success of our clients by enabling them to operate in more efficient environments, optimize the flexibility of their operations, and meet aggressive schedules.
| Jul 29, 2016
AIRPORT FACILITIES GIANTS: Airports binge on construction during busy year for travel
Terminal construction will grow by nearly $1 billion this year, and it will keep increasing. Airports are expanding and modernizing their facilities to keep passengers moving.
Airports | Jun 1, 2016
LaGuardia Airport’s massive redevelopment begins construction
The development consortium has secured financing for the $4 billion project, and signed an operating lease through 2050.
Airports | Apr 6, 2016
HOK leads joint venture to expand and modernize Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s domestic passenger terminal
The domestic passenger terminal is just the tip of the spear, as the world’s most traveled airport is about to undergo 20 years and $6 billion worth of changes.
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2016
AIRPORT TERMINAL GIANTS: KPF, Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among top airport sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Metals | Jan 19, 2016
6 ways to use metal screens and mesh for best effect
From airy façades to wire mesh ceilings to screening walls, these projects show off the design possibilities with metal.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Airports | Dec 13, 2015
Skybridge connects a terminal and airport on each side of the U.S.-Mexico border
Cross Border Xpress is the first phase of a larger development that will include hotels and offices.
Airports | Dec 4, 2015
National Fire Protection Association drops ban on glass boarding bridges
U.S. airports can now use more aesthetically pleasing building-to-plane links.
Airports | Oct 30, 2015
HOK designs new terminal for Salt Lake City International Airport
The $1.8 billion building will have floor-to-ceiling windows, a spacious central "Canyon," and energy-efficient systems. It will open in 2020.