Portland is building a new world-class airport terminal building (RENDERINGS)

Artistic rendering of Portland International Airport's new main terminal building. (ZGF Architects/PDX Next)

Vancouver and Seattle are about to see major new competition in the aviation sector from the opening of Portland’s new airport building.

Portland International Airport (PDX) could soon not only become the Pacific Northwest’s best airport — toppling Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) — but top the rankings to become North America’s new best airport.

The high calibre of the architectural design of PDX’s future main terminal building is unmatched compared to existing facilities and planned future improvements amongst Canadian and American airports, with the exceptions of the future Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) redevelopments.

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The new expansive PDX terminal building space is contained under the curves of an impressive wood-lattice ceiling — not entirely dissimilar to the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building and Seattle Convention Center’s brand new Summit Building. PDX’s new main terminal building is designed by Portland-based ZGF Architects.

Nearly three dozen Y-shaped columns hold up the 400,000 sq ft canopy of plywood and glulam panels, made from locally sourced wood.

portland international airport pdx next main terminal building

Artistic rendering of Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (ZGF Architects/PDX Next)

About 50 skylight breaks in the ceiling enable daylight to stream through into the airy, open space — and recent construction photos of the bright, cavernous space show the natural light-flooded design is working as imagined.

Extensive indoor greenery — with real living tall trees — will provide the feeling of walking through a park, as a subtle nod to the Pacific Northwest’s landscape.

The check-in hall is being reconfigured and expanded to consider the latest optimal layouts and technologies. Retail and food/beverage services will be organized into nodes that resemble Portland’s pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined streets with cafe seating and urban furniture. In total, there will be about 20 new retail and food/beverage options, including celebrated local businesses.

Airport security screening areas are typically merely functional and utilitarian, but attention to detail has also been provided to PDX’s new security screening area to improve comfort, with overhead wood screens providing a frame for hanging gardens.

Large floor-to-ceiling windows will contain the building space, providing impressive views of the airfield. Terrazzo and white oak panels will be used for the flooring, with the spaces further enhanced with up to 20 pieces of art.

Artistic rendering of Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (ZGF Architects/PDX Next)

Map of the new retail and restaurants in Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (PDX Next)

Artistic rendering of Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (ZGF Architects/PDX Next)

It should be noted that while this is a drastic renovation and reconstruction of the 1950s-built airport, the final product promises to be an all-new airport experience.

Construction on PDX Next, the name of the airport’s expansion and renovation project, first began in 2019 with the demolition of some major old sections of the terminal building. The project carries a total cost of US$2 billion (CA$2.7 billion), completely funded by airport airlines, tenants, and other businesses.

The construction process for the new wood roof is a feat of engineering on its own, with 20 different sections fully prefabricated on the airfield over the course of a year. Each section — the largest measuring 220 ft by 110 ft — is carefully lifted and transported to the main terminal footprint over several nights at a time. As of early Summer 2023, Mammoet’s heavy lift vehicles have placed 16 sections in place, and the remaining four sections will be installed in 2024.

Process for transporting and installing the big wood roof segments in place for Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (Mammoet)

March 2023 construction progress on Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (PDX Next)

July 2023 construction progress on Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (PDX Next)

May 2024 has been established as a key milestone for the redevelopment — the targeted soft opening of the new main terminal building, which will have a total floor area of over one million sq ft. The project will fully open by 2025.

Some other components of PDX Next have already opened, including a new concourse in late 2021 that added six gates. The project will also provide some ground transportation and access improvements.

This project is being built to meet PDX’s long-term growth. Upon completion, it will double PDX’s ability to handle 35 million passengers annually, which is a volume level forecasted by 2045.

PDX saw 19.9 million passengers in pre-pandemic 2019, and it recovered to 14.8 million passengers in 2022.

Artistic rendering of Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (ZGF Architects/PDX Next)

July 2023 construction progress on Portland International Airport’s new main terminal building. (PDX Next)

In comparison, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded over 51 million passengers in 2019, with volumes recovering to 46 million in 2022.

Vancouver International Airport saw 26.4 million passengers in 2019. Its volumes recovered to 19 million in 2022, and a further recovery to at least 22 million is anticipated for 2023.

SEA completed a US$1 billion (CA$1.34 billion) expansion of its international terminal building facilities in 2022. Construction is also expected to begin soon on an architecturally impressive new concourse at a cost of roughly US$500 million (CA$670 million).

The Washington state government is also in the process of identifying a location for a second major international airport in the Seattle region, as SEA is expected to reach capacity by the early 2030s — even with its recently built and planned expansions. Any further potential growth is highly limited due to SEA’s constrained land area.

In 2022, YVR began using its newly built Pier D international terminal building expansion, completed at a cost of CA$300 million (US$222 million). Prior to the pandemic, there were discussions of initiating the construction of the larger Pier F expansion shortly after the completion of Pier D. Pier F is envisioned as a major eastward expansion of the international terminal building’s existing US transborder area between the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel and the JetSet parking lot.

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