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
| Sep 30, 2013
Smart building systems key to new Wisconsin general aviation terminal’s net zero target
The Outagamie County Regional Airport’s new 8,000 sf general aviation terminal was designed to achieve net zero.
| Sep 19, 2013
What we can learn from the world’s greenest buildings
Renowned green building author, Jerry Yudelson, offers five valuable lessons for designers, contractors, and building owners, based on a study of 55 high-performance projects from around the world.
| Sep 19, 2013
6 emerging energy-management glazing technologies
Phase-change materials, electrochromic glass, and building-integrated PVs are among the breakthrough glazing technologies that are taking energy performance to a new level.
| Sep 11, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 3 coverage
Day 3 coverage of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo, taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 10, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 2 coverage
The BD+C editorial team brings you this real-time coverage of day 2 of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Aug 30, 2013
Local Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest local government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 30, 2013
State Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, Jacobs, PCL Construction among nation's top state government design and construction firms, according to BD+C's 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 28, 2013
Federal Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.