HOK’s design advisory services for the new LaGuardia Airport ensure visual continuity and improved operations as the airport undergoes a sweeping $8 billion modernization recognized as the most significant new U.S. aviation project in decades.
Our recommendations helped establish a unified hub of multiple terminals (beginning with the HOK-designed new Terminal B) that will dramatically improve the passenger experience. Equally important, the recommendations provide a phased approach to redevelopment, allowing LaGuardia to continue to operate throughout construction.
Strategies included in HOK’s design advisory services include:
A new single, unified airport: HOK coordinated with the Port Authority, LaGuardia Gateway Partners, Delta Air Lines, and numerous design and construction teams to achieve a cohesive, overarching design that will project LaGuardia’s new image to the community and world.
Improved airside operations: By moving rebuilt terminals closer to the landside approach of Grand Central Parkway, our recommendations add two miles of plane taxiways that will reduce aircraft bottlenecks and ground delays.
Design aesthetics: The recommendations ensure that the new terminals are as visually appealing as they are efficient. There is an emphasis on natural lighting, intuitive wayfinding and expansive views that reduce customer anxiety and create a new sense of place. HOK renderings of the new LaGuardia set the tone for the overall look of the airport and helped communicate the project vision to the public.
Better airport access: HOK’s urban design and landscape architecture teams oversaw a comprehensive approach to roadways, parking and public transit that will strengthen connections to the airport, including via a proposed new AirTrain link to regional rail and the New York City Subway. HOK provided conceptual designs for the airport’s AirTrain stations as well as a proposed airport hotel.
Sustainability and resilience: The recommendations call for all building projects to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver certification for sustainable design while reducing energy and water consumption. The airport is designed to remain fully operational during storm events and to rapidly recover from any flooding.