should accentuate what already works at PDX while improving safety and wellness. It should be beautiful, be calming to travelers and function for at least 50 years. “We wanted it to be a civic place that would celebrate Oregon in many ways,” says ZGF’s Sandoval. “Celebrate the natural beauty, the natural materials, and also celebrate the skill and the craftsmanship.” The first, glimmering designs were submitted in 2020, and they doubled the size of the main terminal within the same footprint. ZGF, the primary architect at PDX since the 1960s, and its managing partner, Sharron van der Meulen devised the concept theme of a walk in the woods to help manifest calm in a typically tense space. Clear paths of travel were designed to help ensure efficiency in passenger processing. Wave patterns in the smooth terrazzo flooring subtly guide travelers from the ticket counters to the security checkpoints. Renovating existing buildings is now seen as a having far less impact on climate change than new construction by producing less “embodied carbon,” i.e., carbon emitted during the manufacture, transport and assembly of building materials. But this move at PDX raised the degree of construction difficulty considerably, according to Dave Garske, vice president of Hoffman Construction, one-half of the joint venture leading the project. “It definitely doesn’t make things any easier,” Garske says. “Having the traveling public right outside your construction area 24-7 is very complicated and very risky. We’ve also got TSA and Port operations folks below the emplaning level with an operating baggage and security system that’s running all the time. Being able to keep them all safe as we’re transporting materials in and out, and also making sure that the construction area is secured, has been something else.” Given an ambitious checklist and a razorthin margin of error, the Port’s board of directors opted not to employ the low-bid method common in government contracting. They instead selected an alternative — and more expensive — delivery method, Construction Manager-General Contractor, or CMGC, which ties in the major players from the start. Public projects often include a 1% to 2% set-aside for art. But using CMGC allowed the project team to incorporate art from square one. In February construction ceased and the opening of Phase I was delayed following four instances of dropped items from height. 38
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