Constructing a Concourse
By K. Robert Wendel

Sky Harbor International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, is growing even more in its ongoing effort to handle the increasing passenger count.
Crews from the Phoenix office of Hunt Construction are nearing completion on the new S-2 concourse, with plans calling for a Jan. 28 substantial completion on the $62 million project.

More than 19 million passengers boarded or landed at Sky Harbor so far this year, a 4.4 percent increase from 2003. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, the airport temporarily suspended most of the construction activities at the airport, including the S-2 concourse in Terminal 4, but the projects are now back on track.

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One possible glitch in finishing the S-2 project on time is the continuing shortage of cement needed to make concrete. The commodity has been in tight supply as factories and the transportation system struggle to keep up with demand.

"The old days of calling up and saying we need 250 yds at 2 p.m. are just not happening anymore," said Hunt Construction project superintendent Glenn Burner. "We had to cancel a pour with about 60 guys when the cement truck didn't show up."

While the stoppages may be slowing work at Sky Harbor and around the Valley, it isn't stopping work. The airport has aggressive plans for more work including another concourse for America West Airlines, a people- moving system and a new $80 million control tower under construction by Jacobs Engineering.

The new S-2 concourse is more than a place for people to board airplanes.

Plans are calling for a 47,000-sq.-ft. basement and apron level facility that will house an operations center for Southwest Airlines. The new concourse will also serve Southwest Airlines passengers.

"Sky Harbor is spending a lot of money for this concourse, but companies will be paying a lot of rent to do business here," said Hunt Construction project manager Ray Libonati. "It's expensive to build here and operate here, but it's where Southwest Airlines needs to be."

The project is being built under a construction manager at-risk contract, with
Hunt Construction landing other miscellaneous projects at the airport.

In addition to the basement, the S-2 project features a 12,000-sq.-ft. storage mezzanine around the basement, a 31,000-sq.-ft. business operations center at the apron level and a 38,000-sq.-ft. passenger area.

The new concourse is wider than other concourses at Sky Harbor, which allows for more retail operations and generates more revenue for the airport.

The concourse's style is also different from the others. Designers used many of the basic materials common to the airport, such as glass, steel and concrete, but with a different twist.

"They were willing to let us relate back to the old style of concourse with steel, glass and similar materials, but they let us open it up," said architect Steve Rao of the Phoenix office of DWL Architects and Planners Inc. "The original concourses were kind of a box, so we added some daylighting and created more central space."

Designers butter flied the roof, which created the opportunity for clerestory lights around the perimeter of the concourse. Precast "Y" frames support the butterfly roof and allow plenty of natural light.

Coreslab Structures of Phoenix provided the precast components.

The wider concourse features high- end finishes and an open ceiling that showcases the roof drain pipes and turns them into architectural elements. The central concourse area is floored in terrazzo and there are eight aircraft boarding gates. A large glass curtain wall at the concourse end allows unrestricted viewing of the aircraft operations.

"This concourse is totally different," Hunt's Burner said. "Basically, >> you have an atrium running down the center, and with the butterfly roof, there's a big open feeling in the center."

The roof design created complications for mechanical and electrical engineers, who ended up running the ducting and chases at the perimeter of the building.

The ducting and chases run in soffit ceilings above passenger gates and the retail components.

"There's no ceiling space in the whole central corridor," said mechanical engineer Russ Betz of Phoenix-based LSW Engineers Inc. "Everything had to be located in the passenger holding area, so that ceiling space is really crowded."

LSW Engineers also helped design an upgrade for the airport's central plant. Plans call for the city to add an eighth and final chiller at the airport to service new facilities.

Imcor of Phoenix was the project's mechanical contractor, with Delta Diversified acting as the electrical contractor.

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