Photo courtesy of Gensler

Countdown

While the planners and designers of airport terminals are still grappling with security problems and a downturn in passenger volume, they envision major public spaces yet to come.

What could be more safe, predictable and routine than air travel—before September 11, 2001? Yet air travel as we know it is a fairly recent phenomenon. Just 100 years after Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted the world's first successful flight in a heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, NC, on December 17, 1903, the airline industry is adjusting to new challenges with the help of engineers and architects, rethinking airport terminal buildings to be secure, cost-effective yet genuine places in their own right.

Photo courtesy of Gensler

“Security remains a big issue two years after September 11,” admits Tim Bond, program manager for Carter & Burgess. “As we assess risk, vulnerability and criticality to identify who threatens us, what we expose to harm, and how we can function after sustained losses, uncertainties persist.” Where should baggage screening be located to minimize obstruction, how can “selectees” be pulled off dedicated lines without slowing them, and what is the best way to screen employees, cargo and vehicles? Progress is being made, however. According to Loy Warren, national director of aviation for Carter & Burgess, “The Transportation Security Administration now appreciates that caring for passengers is as important as security.”

The industry has faced adversity before. However, reduced passenger volume, precarious airline finances, and concern about revenue bonds make the current crisis more pervasive. “Will we see a change in airport facilities from dedicated use to common use?” asks Ron Steinert, vice president, aviation for Gensler. “If airlines lease space on an as-use basis, the way airports are designed, financed and operated could be transformed.” Steinert concedes that airlines like to control their facilities with proprietary systems and procedures. Yet revenue sources such as retailing might make up the difference.

Photo courtesy of Carter & Burgess

Planning a future role for retailing is part of an initiative among airports to study long-range options at a time when little money exists for new construction, and regional airlines serving second and third-tier cities account for much current activity. New opportunities beckon nonetheless. “Airports are only beginning to develop their potential as intermodal transportation centers and business centers,” observes Pat Askew, senior vice president and director of aviation for Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum. “European airports like Amsterdam’s Schiphol and London’s Heathrow show how to encourage the links between air travel and commerce.”

In the long run, airport designers are confident that passenger volume will rebound. So design professionals like Marilyn Jordan Taylor, FAIA, a partner and chairwoman of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, insist that airport terminals will remain major works of architecture. “In airport terminals, as in other transportation facilities,” she maintains, “the qualities of excellent architecture remain unchanged: clarity (can I see my plane?), comfort (is my chair easy to sit in, and is there an Internet connection available?), and delight (once I finish the security process, will I enjoy the trip?).” She adds that security, efficiency and comfort do not rule out inventive design. A century after the Wright brothers, we are not about to surrender the power of flight.

“Airports focus on making facilities safe, efficient, people-friendly and profitable,” observes Ginger Evans, aviation programs manager of Carter & Burgess, a national E/A firm. “Balancing these goals is challenging, but not impossible.”Accordingly, Carter & Burgess is concentrating on the following issues:

Security: Cargo security, perimeter security, and baggage and passenger screening require substantial technical and facility improvements. Airports must squeeze large-scale equipment into small-scale areas while enhancing the customer experience.

Safety: U.S. aviation has practiced continuous improvement in airfield safety for years. Current airfield improvement programs call for upgrading lighting systems to include centerline lights and red stop bars to enhance pilot awareness and minimize runway incursions.

Passenger experience: Electronic passenger check-in gets the passenger to the gate faster, while accommodating additional needs for food and beverages, business services, and other amenities. A key goal of airport managers is to create a positive customer experience, along with increasing revenue streams through upgraded concessions.

Flexibility: Flexibility in airport facility design is key, as modifications of physical layouts and enhancements of the IT infrastructure are required for both security and growth requirements. Recent security needs have demonstrated the importance of providing sufficient infrastructure and space for growth.

Internet-based project management is flourishing as public and private-sector owners discover its effectiveness in controlling their projects. Complex airport projects are no exception, given their need for coordination. For example, the advent of collaboration tools such as software from Constructw@re has helped owners and suppliers cut time and cost from the delivery process by giving the right people the right information at the right time.

Interestingly, even when owners are not the driving force behind these tools, they benefit. Such is the case at Kansas City International Airport, where Walton Construction has been using Constructw@re to accelerate communication and increase accountability on its $100-million-plus contract to renovate three 1970s-era terminals. Walton had mobilized the project on August 6, 2001, a month before September 11.

Construction was immediately halted and new security procedures defined before work could resume. Thanks to Constructw@re, Walton communicated the myriad security-related changes to its 35 subcontractors quickly and accountably. As of March 2003, the project has generated 1,207 RFIs, 3,537 transmittals, 4,723 letters, faxes and memos, 442 work change directives, 85 RFPs, 526 RCOs and 5,480 cost items with minimal disruption to KCI’s schedule.

Aggressive airport projects requiring tight security and close coordination with airport operations are routine for Ames Construction. That’s how Ames recently completed the center runway portion of Phoenix’s $66.2-million Sky Harbor Airport reconstruction project in a joint venture with Coffman Specialties. The 10,300-ft runway construction began in January 2003 with a 0-day delivery window, requiring crews 24/7. “By consolidating two phases of the runway project (totaling 90 days), we were able to double our resources to deliver the overall project 20 days ahead of schedule,” says Jeff Williamson, Ames Southwest region vice president, engineering.

Why did Gibson and Associates choose SSI Flexpatch for spall repair on the apron, taxiways, and runways at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport? Jeff Gibson, vice president of Gibson, says Flexpatch’s fast installation and short cure time helped increase production within D/FW’s strict closure times. SSI Flexpatch is a three-component, 100%-solids, multi-purpose, high-strength, non-shrink, waterproof, semi-flexible polymer patching mortar that is non-conductive, totally impervious and does not accelerate corrosion. It conforms to ACPA Bulletin TB003 for partial depth pavement repairs, and is usable on airfields, bridge decks, roadways and parking structures.

Photo courtesy of Boeing

Houstonians, the 1.9 million residents of America’s energy capital and manned space flight center—as well as a leader in medical practice and research—seldom does anything in a small or hesitant way. This is certainly true in the current, $2.8-billion expansion of the city’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Hobby Airport and Ellington Field. Consider the recent selection of Environmental Interiors, Inc., a manufacturer and contractor of specialty architectural metalwork and custom interior finishes for the civic, transportation and corrections markets, as a major subcontractor at George Bush Intercontinental.

Environmental Interiors has been awarded a $15-million subcontract by Clark/Mission for extensive architectural metal fabrications and impact-resistant wall protection for the Federal Inspection Services Building. When completed, the building adjoining the new Terminal E will house Customs, Immigration and Naturalization Services and associated inspection agencies.

Speaking of Terminal E, Environmental Interiors will be active there as well, having won a nearly $5-million subcontract for installation of a broad spectrum of custom ornamental metalwork and specialty interior finishes by Spaw Glass Construction. Twenty-three international gates will operate from this handsome new structure when it is completed in the classic Houstonian way—big and bold.

The past and future of Glasgow, Ky, are displayed below and above ground. Mammoth Cave National Park welcomes tourists to the world’s longest cave. Glasgow Airport offers its newly expanded runway to corporate jets and cargo aircraft, satisfying local businesses and encouraging economic growth. Thanks to Tensar BX1200 Geogrid, the runway also wins praise for lower cost and improved performance.

The original design specified 21 in. of stone base topped by 4 in. of asphalt to lengthen the runway from 4,599 ft to 5,301 ft and widen it from 75 ft to 100 ft. However, American Engineers, Inc. accelerated the installation, saved money, and created a more durable pavement by installing a reinforcing layer of BX1200 Geogrid at the midpoint of the base to spread the load and confine the aggregate. The FAA, recognizing the applicability of Tensar BX Geogrids for improving the performance of flexible runway pavements, permitted a reduction of the pavement section thickness.

“The final installation consisted of 7 in. of stone base over the clay subgrade, followed by BX1200, another 7 in. of aggregate and 4 in. of asphalt,” notes Jim Sanneman, senior geosynthetic specialist for distributor Contech Construction Products, “for a savings of $59,000.”