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.
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
Related Stories
| Aug 28, 2012
McCarthy begins construction on transportation center at Bob Hope Airport
Designed to meet LEED silver certification standards, the facility will feature unique, above ground base isolators that will resist a maximum credible earthquake.
| Jun 14, 2012
Viscardi joins LEO A DALY as VP, corporate director of aviation programs
Viscardi will be responsible for providing the vision and strategy for growing the firm’s aviation practice, identifying and establishing new clients, as well as maintaining existing client relationships.
| Jun 1, 2012
New BD+C University Course on Insulated Metal Panels available
By completing this course, you earn 1.0 HSW/SD AIA Learning Units.
| May 30, 2012
Construction milestone reached for $1B expansion of San Diego International Airport
Components of the $9-million structural concrete construction phase included a 700-foot-long, below-grade baggage-handling tunnel; metal decks covered in poured-in-place concrete; slab-on-grade for the new terminal; and 10 exterior architectural columns––each 56-feet tall and erected at a 14-degree angle.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 24, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Entry Form
Download a PDF of the Entry Form at the bottom of this page.
| Mar 29, 2012
U.K.’s Manchester Airport tower constructed in nine days
Time-lapse video shows construction workers on the jobsite for 222 continuous hours.
| Mar 27, 2012
Skanska hires aviation construction expert Bob Postma
Postma will manage Skanska’s nationwide in-house team of airport construction experts who lead the industry in building and renovating airport facilities and their essential features.
| Jan 4, 2012
New LEED Silver complex provides space for education and research
The academic-style facility supports education/training and research functions, and contains classrooms, auditoriums, laboratories, administrative offices and library facilities, as well as spaces for operating highly sophisticated training equipment.
| Nov 10, 2011
Skanska Moss to expand and renovate Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
The multi-phase terminal improvement program consists of an overall expansion to the airport’s footprint and major renovations to the existing airport terminal.
