HOK Updates Terminal 5 At Chicago O’Hare International Airport

2024 Best of Year Winner for Domestic Transportation

At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 5’s first expansion in 30 years is a wing-shape extension that modernizes one of the country’s busiest airports in style. The project was initially conceived as a straightforward but uninspired linear addition to the existing concourse. Instead, HOK proposed bending the design into a boomerang shape that optimizes the surrounding airfield space, with a curved roof that rises gracefully to peak at the terminal’s elbow, forming a town square of sorts bathed in daylight from clerestory windows. The boomerang is in-filled with lounges, gates, and shops but, like an art museum, the architectural attitude is all about serenity. That’s aided by a neuro-inclusive focus that reduces sensory overload through circadian lighting and ultraquiet mechanical systems, helping soothe the nerves of anxious flyers.

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PROJECT TEAM: PETER RUGGIERO; BRENDA KARHOFF; AL LYONS.