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ZGF's groundbreaking mass timber airport terminal design debuts in Portland

2024-08-15T18:50:00-04:00

A groundbreaking transportation infrastructure project from ZGF, the new Portland International Airport (PDX) Main Terminal in Oregon, has just opened after a five-year and $2.15 billion renovation.

Image courtesy Ema Peter Photography

The design features a 9-acre (3.5 million board feet) prefabricated mass timber roof and will eventually allow the airport to serve 35 million passengers annually by 2045.

Image courtesy Ema Peter Photography

While doubling its existing capacity, ZGF says they achieved a 50% energy reduction throughout the project by incorporating an all-electric ground-source heat pump.

Image courtesy Ema Peter Photography

ZGF partner Gene Sandoval said: “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.”

Image: DROR BALDINGER FAIA

A total of 49 separate skylights combine with the roof's lattice st...

Construction underway of major timber roof for ZGF’s Portland airport expansion

2023-06-29T11:26:00-04:00

Construction is underway for the expansion of Portland International Airport. As we reported last year, the ZGF-designed expansion will include a roof formed of 2.5 million feet of timber. New images of the scheme by roof installers Mammoet show components for the timber roof being moved into place on the construction site.

Image credit: Mammoet

The roof was fully prefabricated between the airport’s active runways over the course of a year and comprises twenty roof panels in five distinct shapes. Prior to being moved into their final position, the panels were disconnected into approximately football-field-sized pieces in order to minimize disruption to airport operations. At midnight on the day of each move, the runways closed for the one-mile transport of the panel from the fabrication site to the construction site.

Image credit: Mammoet

Each panel was installed using stationary skidding propelled by strand jacks and lowered with the skidding jacks onto column isolators. The next set...

2.5 million feet of timber used to construct roof on ZGF’s Portland airport expansion

2022-07-22T14:14:00-04:00

Construction has commenced on the ZGF-designed expansion of Portland International (PDX) Airport. The defining feature of the main terminal project, set to be completed in 2025, is a new lattice roof formed by 2.5 million feet of timber.

Image courtesy of ZGF Architects

The scheme was conceived from a desire by the airport to create a more cohesive passenger experience and to bring a sense of unity to the airport after 70 years of expansions and additions. ZGF’s answer was a singular terminal building housed under one undulating, mass timber roof, accompanied by an interior strategy which prioritized biophilic design, interior landscaping, daylighting, and natural materials.

“Upon entering the new terminal core, visitors are invited to take a walk in the forest,” the architects say. “Views to the airfield, daylight, interior landscape, and art recalling the region’s natural beauty are present throughout the passenger journey.”

Image courtesy of ZGF Architects

The roof is inspired by ...