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Transformative terminal modernisation: From design to reality
Journal of Airport Management,
14
(3),
269-279
(2020)
Abstract
US airports, like their counterparts worldwide, face increasing pressure to improve and modernise their infrastructure in light of rampant passenger growth and heightened emphasis on passenger experience. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is no exception. The world’s busiest airport is in the midst of a 20-year, multibillion modernisation programme that includes plans for new parking structures, cargo facilities, expanded gates, a sixth runway and two large-scale and one-of-a-kind canopies covering the dropoff and pick-up areas at its domestic terminal. This paper examines the design evolution of those canopies and provides insights into how airports can add iconic architectural elements that improve passenger experience while utilising existing terminal infrastructure. Installing the 864-foot-long canopies over eight lanes of traffic offers additional lessons in construction planning, traffic management, safety and signage for airport operators contemplating future modernisation projects.
Keywords: modernisation; airport infrastructure; passenger experience; architecture; traffic management; phased construction; parametric modelling
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Jorge Cortes is the Director of Architecture for Atlanta’s Department of Aviation/Bureau of Planning & Development. Jorge is responsible for the overall design direction and oversight of all airport-wide architectural projects. He is an architect with more than three decades of design experience in aviation facilities.
Gary Summerlin is a Design Manager for Atlanta’s Department of Aviation/Bureau of Planning & Development. Bringing over 20 years of design experience with aviation facilities, landside and airside, Gary provided guidance to the canopy design team, working with all airport stakeholders, to resolve challenges and issues.
Matt Breidenthal is a structural engineer with extensive experience designing and vetting complex architecture projects in the United States and abroad. Based in HOK’s Atlanta studio, Matt serves as one of the firm’s engineering practice leaders and a member of its global design board and board of directors. Known for his innovative solutions and technical expertise, Matt led the development HOK’s parametric modelling software — HOK STREAM — discussed in this paper.
