Miller Hull

By Joe Bates

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has hired The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP and Woods Bagot as joint project design leaders to create a dynamic, performative, and sustainable facility expansion of Concourse C.

Airport operators, the Port of Seattle, describes Woods Bagot as a global firm with a “world-class aviation portfolio”, and Miller Hull, as an “internationally recognised architecture firm rooted in the Pacific Northwest and known for sustainable design”.

It says that both will help significantly elevate the customer experience in Concourse C and across Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

The last decade has seen rapid passenger growth, which the 110,000-square-foot, $340 million expansion (currently referred to as the C1 building) will be designed to accommodate.

Diversity, performance, sense of place and sustainability are the driving design principles behind the latest expansion project, which it is noted will help create a new destination retail experience using a rich array of local shopping and dining options. The projected completion date is 2027.

Sense of Place: Experiencing the Pacific NorthwestThe airport believes that passengers arriving or departing at Concourse C will have no doubt as to where they are in Seattle and Washington State.

It notes that through an interplay of local materials, references to nature, and events, the expansion will express the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, its lively culture, its eating and drinking scene, and its vibrant economy.

The retail market will draw inspiration from Seattle’s beloved Pike Place Market, with live performances celebrating the city’s musical culture.

SustainabilitySustainability is at the heart of SEA’s agenda for the future.

The expansion along Concourse C is the first project to implement the Port’s new Sustainable Project Framework. Targeting LEED Silver certification, the framework supports early integration of sustainability in capital projects with a view to meeting the Century Agenda goals.

Miller Hull, the architect of the Living Building Certified Bullitt Center, and Woods Bagot, which led the design of all the airside passenger facing environments at San Francisco International Airport’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1, which will achieve LEED Gold, have proven experience in reducing operational and embodied carbon and water, and introducing biophilia to create buildings that improve the health of people and of the planet.

Located between Concourses C and D, the project will:

• Add four additional floors at approximately 27,000 square feet each
• Bring natural daylight and multi-level dining and retail
• Build new restrooms, vertical circulation, and seating

Another major project close to completion is the airport’s eagerly awaited new International Arrivals Facility (IAF) is due to open this summer.

The IAF programme includes three new elements: A 450,000-square-foot Grand Hall for baggage claim and customs processing, an 85-foot-high aerial walkway that will directly connect it to the South Satellite, and a new international corridor connecting arriving international passengers on Concourse A.

Supporting projects to expand power, fibre optic technology and high-efficiency baggage services will significantly speed-up processing during peak international arrival periods.

Commenting on the improvements for international passengers, Ron Peck, director of international tourism development, noted: “We are building a new, expanded International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at SEA to significantly enhance the international passenger experience and advance the Puget Sound region as a leading tourism and business gateway.

“With these new facilities, we will have the capacity to serve the travelling public well into the future.

“This is the largest capital development programme in the history of the 71-year-old airport and it will significantly improve the arrival process for international passengers to accommodate Seattle’s growing demand for international travel.”

Read the full story at Airport World