Global architecture studio Corgan has collaborated with Texas-based Lake Flato for a massive addition to San Antonio‘s airport that includes references to the geography and historic architecture of the city.
The San Antonio International Airport expansion includes a 17-gate terminal, as well as parking facilities, utility plant and railway infrastructure for the airport in San Antonio, the second-largest city in Texas by population.
It will expand the function of the growing city while uniting two of the other terminals on the site.
The collaborative terminal design by Corgan and Lake Flato, whose co-founders David Lake and Ted Flato were awarded the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, features a series of structures with slanted roofs overlapping each other, described by the team as “hovering shed roofs”.
Its facade will be covered with semi-translucent cladding.
At the centre of the terminal will be a large open garden space, informed by the city’s renowned River Walk, which was recently revamped by architecture studio Beaty Palmer.
This garden area will feature a landscaped space between two structures, transected by elevated walkways that shade ground-level walkways below.
References to the local architecture include stone-clad columns and massive timber rafters that extend from the interior terminal spaces to under the soffit of the roof structures.
“San Antonio’s new airport terminal is a transformational moment for our city,” said Lake Flato partner Joe Benjamin.
“The design team’s goal was to create an inspired first impression for visitors that embodies the rich character of San Antonio. A River Walk-inspired landscape will greet arriving passengers, providing a welcoming front door that is authentic to San Antonio’s unique culture, context, and community.”
Inside, the teams will implement exposed mass-timber rafters on tall ceilings, with clerestory windows letting natural light into the terminal.
The terminal entrance area will be open to the garden, and renderings show planters with live trees placed within the facilities.
According to the team, the 17-gate terminal will be completed by 2028.
Other airport architecture news in the United States includes a controversial expansion to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport by Studio Gang-led team.
The imagery is courtesy of Corgan and Lake Flato.
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