Seattle-Tacoma International Airport,
Central Terminal Expansion
Seattle
Fentress Bradburn Architects

Curving curtain wall resurrects terminal’s Art Deco heritage

© James P. Scholz

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The Seattle-Tacoma airport’s central terminal, built in 1949, prominently featured observation decks that allowed passengers and their companions to watch airplane landings and takeoffs, as well as take in the region’s natural beauty. Renovations to the building in 1962 eliminated views and denied travelers this pleasure. In designing the terminal’s latest renovation, a 250,000-square-foot expansion, Fentress Bradburn Architects began with the desire to resurrect observation capabilities in a way that would honor the building’s Art Deco heritage and modern technological achievements.

Rather than elongate the terminal’s trapezoidal plan, the architect designed a new fan-shaped indoor civic “marketplace” that in itself provides observation viewpoints. This fan shape occurs both in plan and in elevation—its roof honors the Art Deco style, while its curtain wall represents technological advancement. Passengers are routed into this central terminal through a consolidated central security checkpoint, which replaces two previous checkpoints. The consolidated area helps reduce the risk of a security breach; consolidation also enables the airport to increase traffic flow during peak periods with only a minimal increase in staff.

As passengers pass through the low-ceilinged security checkpoint and enter the retail marketplace, the ceiling above them steps up dramatically from the original structure. Dropped wings, connected via clerestories that span over retail shops, flank the primary ceiling form. These forms symbolize the terminal’s curvy Art Deco heritage while an innovative curtain wall, which embodies modern technology, compliments them. The wall is bidirectionally curved like a lens: its 60-foot height is vertically convex, while its 350-foot length is horizontally concave. The largest structure of its kind in North America, the curtain wall is an engineering feat much like the aircraft it showcases.

Seating and indoor landscaping fill the retail marketplace and establish a welcome respite for the leisure, connecting, and harried traveler alike. Four giant flight information display monitors are easily viewable from anywhere within the 130,000-square-foot area. Finishes and detailing reflect the terminal’s Art Deco heritage. A wing design, found on glass elements from the old security pavilion, is now engraved into the doors of public elevators. A terrazzo floor pattern, utilizing the form of a compass from the original 1949 building, marks the entrance to the consolidated security checkpoint. And a dolphin frieze, recalling terracotta molds found above the passenger elevator doors, adorns the façade of the renovated 1949 administration building.

Formal name of Project:
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Central Terminal Expansion

Location:
Seattle

Gross square footage:
390,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$126 Million

Owner:
Port of Seattle

Architect:
Fentress Bradburn Architects, Ltd.
421 Broadway
Denver, CO 80203
303-722-5000 tel.
303-722-5080 fax
www.fentrressbradburn.com