Wood only for building houses? In the USA they have built an airport!

The redeveloped and expanded airport in Portland, Oregon, is intended as a tribute to local forests. Its huge wooden roof covers an area of as much as nine acres (36,421 sq m). ZGF Architects boasts responsibly sourced timber from certified logging sites. Most impressive is to be the structure made of planks suspended above the ceiling and the appropriately placed trees inside. The idea is that passengers will feel like they are in an Oregon forest. Interestingly, despite its average size, Portland Airport is one of the most comfortable and intuitive airports in the country.

Portland-based studio ZGF’s collaboration with the local airport began back in the 1960s, when the airport board commissioned the architects to develop a plan to double the size of the hall. Since then, ZGF has begun receiving steady commissions for remodelling and extensions at Portland PDX Airport. However, the studio’s current project is set to bring a wooden revolution to the interior of the airport.

The entrance to the forest

The ceiling planks have several layers. The wooden framework was covered with rows of planks and then a concave structure was added. The roof is varied with up to 49 large skylights, under which the plank installations are suspended. Interestingly, the main part of the roof was disassembled into 18 separate modules, which were then transported to the construction site and put back together. It is worth noting that during the five years of work, the construction did not disrupt the airport’s operations.

The timber for the project was sourced from the forests around the airport, located in a 482 km circle. ZGF ensured that the planks came from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified sites, small forestry companies and forests of local tribes. Interestingly, the largest amount of private timber was sold by residents of the Yakama tribe’s reservation in Washington State. The company kept records of the origin of the timber, making it possible to see where specific batches of boards were imported from. This way of sourcing timber supports responsible and sustainable forest management. It is interesting to note that the wood used was mainly Douglas fir, which is only found in the Northwest Coast of North America.

Self-sufficient convenience

The redeveloped PDX airport places a strong emphasis on self-sufficiency and ecology. A large number of skylights and new LED lighting reduces energy consumption by half compared to the previous design. What’s more, a new heat pump almost fully meets the airport’s heating needs. On the other hand, the open layout of the hall and the shape of the ceiling allow air to flow freely, which facilitates ventilation. Mention should also be made of the materials used in the construction. The architects tried to retain as much of the old structure as possible, while new materials were sourced from local companies.

The pleasant wooden interior was enclosed in a glass and steel structure. However, the dominance of glass in the curtain walls does not mean that the building is fragile. The strong skeleton supported by concrete pillars is able to withstand earthquakes of 9 on the Richter scale. Such safeguards are particularly important in the geological region of Cascadia, where earthquakes occur frequently.

Above all, the architects focused on passenger comfort. The interior is filled with warm wood colours and trees reaching up to 10 m, creating a relaxing space in such a busy location. The first phase of the expansion was completed in August 2024, and the entire expansion will continue until 2026. With the expansion, the airport building has increased its area to 92,900 sq m. Interestingly, ZGF expects PDX’s capacity to increase to 35 million passengers per year by 2045. In the previous year, the airport handled 16.5 million passengers.

Source: ZDF

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