LaGuardia Airport’s new Terminal B, a four-story, 850,000-sf facility that houses passenger services and amenities, has officially opened.
The steel-framed facility replaces a disjointed patchwork of structures with one that closely follows the curves of the Grand Central Parkway and the airport access roads. It was designed as a highly efficient and adaptable terminal that pays homage to the “architectural grandeur and individuality” of New York City.
“Our design concept focuses on two main components: a superior passenger experience and an exterior architectural expression that conveys a civic presence from the Grand Central Parkway,” said Carl Galioto, FAIA, HOK’s President and New York Office Managing Principal. “The building is a metaphor for New York, a city of islands and bridges, and the terminal is connected to the city with views of the skyline from the passenger bridges. Our ambition was to help transform LaGuardia into an airport with a distinct civic identity worthy of this metropolis.”
Also known as a headhouse, Terminal B includes extensive food and beverage and retail options. Connected to two island concourses by a pair of 450-foot-long steel truss pedestrian bridges, the headhouse serves as the nexus to the new Terminal B. Arriving and departing passengers can view panoramic skyline and airfield views from the transparent-walled, 65-foot-high bridges as taxiing planes pass underneath them. The bridges also enabled the design team to move the terminal 600 feet closer to the Grand Central Parkway, which allowed for two additional miles of aircraft taxi lanes that will reduce airport ground delays.
The team designed a simplified circulation network comprising over eight miles of new roadway and 20 new bridges that provide an easy connection from the airport to the Grand Central Parkway and New York City. The roadways in front of the head house frame the Grand Central Parkway, and its column structures align with the head house design to create a cohesive appearance.
Inside the terminal, all check-in and passenger screening areas are located on the third floor. This location gives Terminal B the adaptability to accommodate evolving security screening and technology as needs change. The “common-use” design allows airlines to move easily within the terminal, expanding or shrinking their footprints as needed.
See Also: A 780-ft-long pedestrian walkway is positioned over an active taxi lane at Sea-Tac International
Terminal B forgoes the widespread practice among airports of offering monumental spaces to departures while relegating low-ceilinged, basement-like zones to arrivals; incoming and outgoing passengers to Terminal B share soaring, grand-scaled sequences.
Sustainability features include non-glare daylighting, passive shading, natural local materials, and storm resiliency and the new infrastructure layout will reduce the airport’s overall carbon footprint due to lower fuel demands from taxiing aircraft. The project is targeting LEED Silver certification.
LaGuardia Gateway Partners is composed of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska, Meridiam and JLC Infrastructure for development and equity investment. Vantage Airport Group leads the redevelopment program and management of Terminal B, with Skanska Walsh as the design-build joint venture and HOK and WSP for design.
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Heathrow Airport could become a city of 190,000 inhabitants
New plans have been introduced to turn London's Heathrow Airport into a city. If those plans ever come to fruition, "Heathrow City" could support 90,000 jobs and 190,000 people. It could also add almost $13 billion to the UK economy.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
