Chicago O'Hare International Airport

The new International Terminal at O'Hare Airport will serve as a gateway welcoming passengers to the City of Chicago. Designed by a team of Heard & Associates, Ltd., Perkins & Will, and Consoer, Townsend & Associates, Inc., the architecture is intended to reflect Chicago's stature as an international center for transportation, business, and culture. It is part of the largest and most ambitious airport expansion program in the world. Scheduled for completion in 1994, with a construction cost of $330 million, this new 20-gate terminal will accommodate all foreign flag departures and international arrivals at O'Hare.

The building is organized around three primary levels capped by a mezzanine housing administrative and mechanical services. The upper level features a departure hall housing 150 ticketing stations, security checkpoints, concessions, departure holdrooms, VIP lounges and airline offices. The departure hall is flooded with natural light form an exposed structural steel truss system, enclosed by expansive glazed sidewalls. From the hall, passengers enter the "galleria" which, with its curvilinear roof, guides them to airline departure gates. The lower level features arrival services such as a federal inspection station capable of processing 4,000 passengers per hour and a "meeters and greeters" area. Between those floors, an intermediate apron level houses airline support services such as baggage handling, employee facilities and ground-handling equipment.

Numerous moving sidewalks carry passengers throughout the terminal, which features both landside and airside views to enhance passenger pleasure and provide a continuous sense of orientation with less reliance on signage. In addition, the facility is served by an intra-airport "people-mover" transit system providing connections to domestic terminals and remote parking facilities. Located adjacent to the airport's main entrance roadway, the 1 million square foot International Terminal project is the final component in O'Hare's 10-year redevelopment program.