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
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.
| Apr 22, 2014
Bright and bustling: Grimshaw reveals plans for the Istanbul Grand Airport [slideshow]
In partnership with the Nordic Office of Architecture and Haptic Architects, Grimshaw Architects has revealed its plans for the terminal of what will be one of the world's busiest airports. The terminal is expected to serve 150 million passengers per year.
| Apr 9, 2014
Steel decks: 11 tips for their proper use | BD+C
Building Teams have been using steel decks with proven success for 75 years. Building Design+Construction consulted with technical experts from the Steel Deck Institute and the deck manufacturing industry for their advice on how best to use steel decking.
