The wood is pretty, but as someone who uses this terminal, the key improvement is that they raised the ceiling and significantly increased the amount of natural light. Here's a good photo of what it looked like before: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portland_International_Airport_PDX_check_in_counters_(Quintin_Soloviev).jpg" rel="nofollow">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portland_Internation...</a><p>The major functional drawback is that wayfinding for both arrivals and departures is much worse. The overall flow of foot traffic is way more confusing than say, the newer terminals at SFO.
I just flew through there and saw the renovation for the first time, and it is an absolutely <i>stunning</i> transformation. Just incredible. I loved it. The whole thing. From the ceiling to the ticketing islands to the reworked security to the amphitheater style seating areas at the terminal exit where friends & family can await your arrival.<p>It feels spacious, natural, functional, and hospitable.
We drove over to PDX a few weeks back not because we had any flights, just to check it out. It's gorgeous - I can't believe I'm saying that about an airport in the US - it's just an amazing space. In addition to the architecture there are huge video walls above the TSA entrance that have calming forest/coastal scenes.
If you prefer a video or want to see some of the construction techniques, the B1M recently did a video on Portland's new airport:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAkjoUdN_I" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAkjoUdN_I</a><p>Pretty impressive how they pulled it off while minimizing impact on airport operations.
It looks beautiful. It talks about it being structural. Is it really? It looks more like a suspended ceiling below steel girders.<p>Our largest airport (AKL) is in the process of rebuilding both domestic and international terminals. They are trying for a timber ceiling [1] with rubber floors [1]. It seems a confused design.<p>> A ‘cost-effective’' mix of durable carpeted and rubber flooring was being used inside and tray profile steel on the exterior. [0]<p>It can't be any worse than our current airport.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/airlines/first-look-auckland-airport-reveals-interior-details-of-new-39b-terminal/GAZ5BYANAJC6NGOYUV73X3RDKQ/" rel="nofollow">https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/airlines/first...</a>
I agree it looks nice, but dressing up an airport in sustainable materials won't materially change the fact that a flight Boston - NYC (one-way!) blasts through ~0.7t[1] of CO2eq of your yearly budget of 1-3t[2]. It won't change the fact, but I'm sure it'll make it easier to forget or ignore.<p>[1] <a href="https://co2.myclimate.org/en/portfolios?calculation_id=7577510" rel="nofollow">https://co2.myclimate.org/en/portfolios?calculation_id=75775...</a><p>[2] e.g. <a href="https://ieep.eu/publications/carbon-inequality-in-2030-per-capita-consumption-emissions-and-the-1-5c-goal/" rel="nofollow">https://ieep.eu/publications/carbon-inequality-in-2030-per-c...</a>
This reminds me of the fairly new Terminal 2 in Bengaluru, covered in (mostly?) bamboo and greenery: <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.in/story/bengalurus-kempegowda-international-airport-t2-is-a-terminal-in-a-garden/" rel="nofollow">https://www.architecturaldigest.in/story/bengalurus-kempegow...</a>
The lessons learned page has some interesting details of the construction process. <a href="https://www.zgf.com/ideas/6785-lessons-learned-in-prefabrication-at-pdx-airport" rel="nofollow">https://www.zgf.com/ideas/6785-lessons-learned-in-prefabrica...</a>
Gorgeous. Hopefully more airports will adopt similar wood themed, warm environments. Madrid International Airport is similar in tone: <a href="https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/madrid-airport-interior.html?sortBy=relevant" rel="nofollow">https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/madrid-airport-interior.ht...</a> which I very much like as well.
I wish we had more pretty architecture like this in the U.S. Our architecture is so utilitarian/corporate and built at the lowest price and just enough to meet building codes. I get why it is the way it is, but I can still wish.
This looks good. Bangalore airport in India also has kind of similar wooden design based on bamboo. check this out - <a href="https://youtu.be/epYGptLAaio" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/epYGptLAaio</a>
It took six years to source all the wood needed.<p>Here is an interesting video about its construction<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAkjoUdN_I" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRAkjoUdN_I</a>
Portland has a history of impressive wooden buildings:<p><a href="https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/world-largest-log-cabin-portland/" rel="nofollow">https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/world-largest-log-cabin-por...</a>
And, if you are lucky, you'll be able to hug a llama there.<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/03/nx-s1-5173755/therapy-animals-portland-airport-llama-alpaca" rel="nofollow">https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/03/nx...</a>
I was proud to be part of the mock passenger test days! The only time I've ever bought pen-knives through TSA (only to have to pick up a new fake participant script and return.)
Beautiful.<p>And: it’s exciting to see more mass timber construction in the PNW. Closer to home for me is the University of Washington’s Founder’s Hall: <a href="https://www.archpaper.com/2022/10/lmn-architects-completes-university-washington-first-mass-timber-building/" rel="nofollow">https://www.archpaper.com/2022/10/lmn-architects-completes-u...</a>
Reminds me of the TD Place Stadium wooden facade they build in Ottawa, Canada:<p><a href="https://springvalleycorp.ca/index.php/td-place-stadium/" rel="nofollow">https://springvalleycorp.ca/index.php/td-place-stadium/</a><p>Is similarly curved, has exposed yellow wood, with the same spacious layering construction.
It looks incredible and I'll take the first chance I get to go check it out, but the cynic in me bets that the international arrivals/layover/security
check area is still just as dull and depressing as any other in the states. 2 people barely churning through a line of 150 stressed travellers that need to get to their next gate in 45 mins. I'd consider paying a fair bit more if I have it next time to not transit through if I can avoid it, always feels like hell. But that is admittedly very cynical and I'm sorry.
It is stunning, indeed. Now, I was there a few days after this new area opened, to pick up some family, so I didn't go through the security check, but from a distance that part still looked like the same unwieldy bottleneck with the messy temporary-yet-permanent barrier belts. Some airports have already re-envisioned their security check, Amsterdam/Schiphol looks nice, I hope that's still in the works for Portland, instead of perpetuating this narrowing trap.
I've seen the pictures, and it's <i>amazing</i>. PDX was already considered a pretty decent airport before, I can't wait the renovated terminal in person.
It is indeed a very nice airport, but I think the secret is they copied Tokyo Haneda, which is just about as woody.<p>(The international part anyway - the domestic terminal is plainer.)
As any airport, it's still a horrible place that you can't even leave until you get to your destination.<p>Think of it: the moment you get into your airport of departure, you become a hamster that enters a giant virtual tube that ends at the exit doors at your destination airport. You are not even allowed to go outside and breathe fresh air, like in hi-security prison. A prison with nice wooden ceilings though.
Glulam is new for me, online knew CLT:
<a href="https://seagatemasstimber.com/what-are-the-key-differences-between-clt-and-glulam/" rel="nofollow">https://seagatemasstimber.com/what-are-the-key-differences-b...</a>
really cool! I've been interested in mass timber as a building material for a couple of years now, it has a lot of potential as a replacement for steel and concrete, with the benefits of being carbon-negative and completely renewable. The world's tallest "plyscraper" is currently (as of 2022) the Ascent MKE building in Milwaukee Wisconsin at 284 feet tall and 25 stories[1]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/apply/worlds-tallest-timber-building-opens" rel="nofollow">https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/apply/w...</a>
Definitely my favorite local airport. It's beautiful and the flow of the airport has been much improved over the last few years, IMO.<p>Highly recommend Screen Door for southern breakfast when stopping through.
Natural features and characteristics are becoming in-vogue with airport design. Cebu and Clark in the PH have a similar timber roof design, as did Bangalore Kempegowda when I flew out of it.
It looks like someone really liked wood slat room dividers [1]. Or maybe a lobbyist for the wood industry was involved.<p>Wood slat partitions were seen in mid-century modern designs, when rooms became more open plan but some sense of division was needed. They were also used in the 1970s to make small cheap apartments look bigger.<p>Still, it's good to see some US airports looking better. Most of the Asian countries have much nicer airports than the US.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/wood-slat-partitions-room-dividers" rel="nofollow">https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/wood-slat-partitio...</a>
I traveled to Asia for many years out of PDX. Now I have to go through SEA, SFO, or LAX, all of which are a very inferior experience. What happened with PDX? I miss the PDX-NRT run.
Flew out of there recently to a trip to Minnesota. I wasn't aware that they were redoing it, but when I walked in, I definitely enjoyed it. It really is a beautiful design.
The continued existence of airports terminals is weird. Its like a temple devoted to muda. They solve a synchronization problem by cacheing all the inputs for the flight manifest instead of making effort to pull all the inputs just in time.
This encapsulates neoliberal environmentalism perfectly! Lets expand airport which greatly increase CO2 outflows and pretend we are "environmental" by building a roof made of trees.<p>It would do more good to make flying less attractive (more difficult) and unpleasant. Airports should reflect the ugliness of what they do to the environment. It should feel,a and smell, worse than walking into a 70s porn theater.