Hunt continues for new Chicago terminal design

Earlier this year, the City of Chicago Department of Aviation opened a call for statements of qualifications from world-class architectural talent capable of delivering a new Global Terminal and Concourse for O’Hare International Airport. Now, the Chicago Tribune has revealed that renowned firms have risen to the challenge, with bidding teams including companies such as SOM, Perkins+Will, Bjarke Ingels Group, Santiago Calatrava, Gensler, HOK, Fentress Architects, JAHN, Epstein, and Studio Fuksas.

The Chicago authorities hope to build on the city’s reputation for leading architectural initiatives by using the development opportunity to redefine the image, technology and level of service for airport terminals. When announcing the plans, City Mayor Rahm Emanuel stated: “Even by the sky-high standards of a city famous for making no little plans, the O’Hare expansion is a big deal for Chicago’s future.” The companies under consideration have plenty of relevant experience in creating innovative large-scale terminal projects. Local firm Perkins+Will were responsible for designing the airport’s Terminal 1, while Skidmore, Owings & Merril completed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 in Mumbai and Changi Airport Terminal 3 in Singapore.

The development is part of the O’Hare 21 project, which includes expanded gates and facilities at Terminal 5 and renovations and new concourses to Terminals 1 and 3.  O’Hare will also become home to the first Global Alliance Hub in North America and one of only five in the world, where each of the three international airline alliance partners operate within a single terminal facility to make connecting flights more seamless for passengers.

Five shortlisted teams will be selected from the submitted qualifications, with the eventual winner designing the global terminal and the second-placed entry responsible for satellite terminals. Completion is expected by 2026, when the airport is expected to serve nearly 100 million passengers per year, up from the current figure of 80 million.

Lucy Nordberg
TenderStream Head of Research

This competition was first published on 20.06.2018 by TenderStream here

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