The recent evolution of airport terminals has been prompted largely by different patterns of passenger behavior in a post-9/11 world. Passengers have learned get to the airport earlier. They spend less time browsing pre-security retail, opting to queue up in often-lengthy security lines well before boarding. The result? Overcrowding in post-security areas, where retail and dining options have historically been lacking.
Curtis Fentress, Principal-in-Charge of design at Fentress Architects, says greater passenger volume has strained gate and restroom capabilities. In addition, the recent popularity of low-cost airlines has increased demand for post-security dining options.
“Many carriers don’t provide any food on the airplane,” Fentress says. “So the people who are getting to the airport earlier to make sure they get through security are waiting, and they want something to eat. If there’s any kind of flight delay, they know they might be stuck in the airport or stuck up in the air for a while without any food.”
Airports are scrambling to respond with renovations and new terminals, even as they deal with TSA rules that can change in an instant. From CTX scanners—van-sized x-ray machines used to examine checked bags—to passenger scanners, the range of large equipment that terminals must accommodate just keeps morphing. Building Teams and their clients are adopting structural tactics that support change.
“We’re using more steel, which allows us to make longer distances between columns,” Fentress says. “The more long-span construction you can do, the more flexibility you have in the future.”
Top Air Terminal Sector Architecture Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Air Terminal Revenue Revenue |
1 | HOK | $47,074,837 |
2 | Gensler | 35,675,000 |
3 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 30,792,300 |
4 | Corgan | 26,376,420 |
5 | Fentress Architects | 26,333,785 |
6 | Stantec | 22,650,631 |
7 | RS&H | 22,050,000 |
8 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 20,454,225 |
9 | PGAL | 17,120,000 |
10 | Heery International | 13,057,793 |
11 | HNTB Corp. | 10,900,639 |
12 | Leo A Daly | 9,490,737 |
13 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 6,733,000 |
14 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 6,179,000 |
15 | HKS | 4,087,622 |
16 | LS3P | 3,282,241 |
17 | Morris Architects | 2,795,000 |
18 | Clark Nexsen | 2,214,183 |
19 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 1,700,000 |
20 | CTA Architects Engineers | 1,187,913 |
21 | ZGF Architects | 929,658 |
22 | BRPH | 925,000 |
23 | Epstein | 762,000 |
24 | RTKL Associates | 677,000 |
25 | Integrus Architecture | 641,695 |
26 | Ware Malcomb | 196,500 |
27 | Rosser International | 158,668 |
28 | JRS Architect | 135,000 |
29 | Environetics | 112,443 |
30 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 92,000 |
31 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 44,964 |
32 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 9,544 |
33 | Perkins+will | 6,836 |
34 | Ratio Architects | 5,368 |
Top Air Terminal Sector Engineering Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Air Terminal Revenue Revenue |
1 | Jacobs | $118,990,000 |
2 | URS Corp. | 83,069,612 |
3 | Burns & McDonnell | 48,010,000 |
4 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 27,025,899 |
5 | Arup | 21,447,760 |
6 | Leidos | 16,810,000 |
7 | Ross & Baruzzini | 12,814,720 |
8 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 9,630,000 |
9 | STV | 5,260,000 |
10 | WSP Group | 3,640,000 |
11 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 3,125,000 |
12 | Syska Hennessy Group | 2,933,760 |
13 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 1,984,605 |
14 | TTG | 1,653,250 |
15 | Thornton Tomasetti | 1,620,411 |
16 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 1,596,212 |
17 | Sparling | 1,583,537 |
18 | Stanley Consultants | 1,526,482 |
19 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 1,500,000 |
20 | Graef | 1,267,799 |
21 | RMF Engineering | 1,200,000 |
22 | Coffman Engineers | 1,139,884 |
23 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | 1,068,015 |
24 | RDK Engineers | 870,000 |
25 | Vanderweil Engineers | 856,900 |
26 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 550,000 |
27 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 550,000 |
28 | Martin/Martin | 494,691 |
29 | M-E Engineers | 400,000 |
30 | Newcomb & Boyd | 351,932 |
31 | Zak Companies | 351,488 |
32 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 300,000 |
33 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 257,524 |
34 | Guernsey | 252,705 |
35 | Environmental Systems Design | 198,068 |
36 | CTLGroup | 180,000 |
37 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 175,000 |
38 | Heapy Engineering | 172,189 |
39 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 150,000 |
40 | GRW | 138,862 |
41 | Wallace Engineering | 131,000 |
42 | Dunham Associates | 90,000 |
43 | CJL Engineering | 81,400 |
44 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 81,358 |
45 | P2S Engineering | 50,418 |
46 | Smith Seckman Reid | 44,419 |
47 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 38,111 |
48 | Spectrum Engineers | 16,993 |
49 | Brinjac Engineering | 12,515 |
50 | French & Parrello Associates | 9,215 |
51 | AKF Group | 6,000 |
Top Air Terminal Sector Construction Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Air Terminal Revenue Revenue |
1 | Turner Construction | $487,680,000 |
2 | Hensel Phelps | 418,780,000 |
3 | PCL Construction | 328,069,635 |
4 | Walsh Group, The | 315,399,703 |
5 | Austin Commercial | 267,162,953 |
6 | Suffolk Construction | 170,270,605 |
7 | Balfour Beatty US | 154,058,403 |
8 | Clark Group | 131,741,104 |
9 | McCarthy Holdings | 127,000,000 |
10 | Manhattan Construction | 119,660,000 |
11 | Hunt Construction Group | 109,000,000 |
12 | URS Corp. | 83,069,612 |
13 | Hill International | 55,000,000 |
14 | Flintco | 54,400,000 |
15 | Walbridge | 46,000,000 |
16 | Skanska USA | 45,635,393 |
17 | Lend Lease | 35,107,000 |
18 | Weitz Company, The | 33,745,047 |
19 | HITT Contracting | 27,200,000 |
20 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 27,025,899 |
21 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 25,926,312 |
22 | Gilbane | 22,031,250 |
23 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 19,320,308 |
24 | New South Construction | 18,923,000 |
25 | BlueScope Construction | 18,631,283 |
26 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 18,433,037 |
27 | Holder Construction | 13,132,000 |
28 | Heery International | 13,057,793 |
29 | Yates Companies, The | 12,900,000 |
30 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 11,991,159 |
31 | Beck Group, The | 11,096,174 |
32 | EMJ Corp. | 10,000,000 |
33 | James McHugh Construction | 9,527,392 |
34 | Robins & Morton | 6,370,178 |
35 | Messer Construction | 5,994,758 |
36 | W. M. Jordan Company | 5,812,917 |
37 | STV | 5,260,000 |
38 | Hill & Wilkinson | 4,766,000 |
39 | Consigli Construction | 3,278,099 |
40 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 3,000,000 |
41 | Sundt Construction | 1,564,147 |
42 | JE Dunn Construction | 1,239,884 |
43 | Hoffman Construction | 1,000,000 |
44 | Hoar Construction | 4,000 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
Related Stories
Airports | Oct 6, 2020
Airport of the Future global student design competition 2020 winners announced
Winning projects reimagine airport mobility in the year 2100 for one of the 20 busiest airports in the world.
Airports | Sep 18, 2020
Infection control measures for airport terminals
More automation and scanning, of people and baggage, will help unclog airports.
Airports | Sep 18, 2020
Wings clipped, airports veer to tech to regain passenger trust
Alternative project delivery methods are also being considered.
Airports | Sep 10, 2020
The Weekly show: Curtis Fentress, FAIA, on airport design, and how P3s are keeping university projects alive
The September 10 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Giants 400 | Aug 28, 2020
2020 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
The 2020 Giants 400 Report features more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Airports | Jul 28, 2020
CallisonRTKL to design one of the world’s first net-zero airports
Guadalajara Airport Terminal 2 will be designed from the ground up.
Coronavirus | Jul 20, 2020
Student housing amid the pandemic, infection control in buildings, and future airport design on "The Weekly"
Experts from Core Spaces, Bala Consulting Engineers, and Populous were interviewed in the July 23 streaming program from Horizon TV.
Airports | Jun 24, 2020
LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B officially opens
HOK and WSP USA designed the project.
Airports | Feb 7, 2020
A 780-ft-long pedestrian walkway is positioned over an active taxi lane at Sea-Tac International
It took eight years to plan, design, and construct this bridge.
Airports | Nov 12, 2019
$1B terminal opens at New Orleans International Airport
LEO A DALY designed the project.