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 | Sep 23, 2015
JFK Airport's dormant TWA terminal will be reborn as a hotel
After 15 years of disuse, the Googie architecture-inspired TWA Flight Center at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will be transformed into a hotel. Gizmodo reports that the city’s Port Authority chose a renovation proposal from Jet Blue this week.
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
AIRPORT SECTOR GIANTS: KPF, Hensel Phelps, Jacobs top rankings of nation's largest airport terminal sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Surveys gauge users’ satisfaction with airports
Several surveys gauge passenger satisfaction with airports, as flyers and airlines weigh in on technology, security, and renovations.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Small and regional airports in a dogfight for survival
Small and regional airports are in a dogfight for survival. Airlines have either cut routes to non-hub markets, or don’t provide enough seating capacity to meet demand.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Airports expand rental car facilities to ease vehicular traffic at their terminals
AEC teams have found fertile ground in building or expanding consolidated rental car facilities, which are the No. 1 profit centers for most airports.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Experts discuss how airports can manage growth
In February 2015, engineering giant Arup conducted a “salon” in San Francisco on the future of aviation. This report provides an insight into their key findings.
Airports | Jul 28, 2015
Plans to make over New York’s aging LaGuardia Airport are revealed
The complete redesign, devised by a panel of experts, would unify terminals, relieve ground traffic congestion, and install state-of-the-art amenities.
Airports | Jul 22, 2015
MUST SEE: JFK airport taps Gensler to design terminal for animals
Pets can enjoy luxurious spa and grooming services before being transported directly to their flight from the terminal.
Airports | Jul 1, 2015
FIRST LOOK: JetBlue opens sprawling green rooftop at JFK International Airport
The 4,046-sf rooftop includes landscaped green spaces, seating for 50 people, 400-sf children’s play area, and a 400-sf dog-walk area.
Sponsored | Airports | Jun 5, 2015
Exposed glulam framework offers quiet complement to Jackson Hole airport’s mountain backdrop
A three-phase expansion and renovation, which began in 2009, nearly doubled the size of the aviation hub; the only one located in a national park