Fast Growth, Fast Track

Speed and Efficiency Piloting JetBlue’s Terminal Project at JFK

While building a terminal double the size of its existing facility, JetBlue cuts into its construction site to make room for additional flights.

JetBlue was looking for efficiency.

When it came time for the upstart, Queens-based airline to plan its new 26-gate terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport – the first terminal designed solely for JetBlue –  the company wasn’t interested in a “statement” facility or a landmark design. The airline that launched just eight years ago wanted the exact opposite.

“A lot of terminals are designed to be these grand civic spaces,” says William Hooper, principal in charge of the project for the global architecture and planning firm Gensler, which designed the terminal. “JetBlue isn’t interested in that. It wanted to keep a low profile. This is a restrained terminal. But it’s extremely efficient in terms of functionality.

“That’s what JetBlue is looking for.”

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But efficiency took on a whole new meaning once construction began.

As steel began to rise, it became apparent that “efficiency” meant more than just creating a terminal that was user friendly to JetBlue passengers. While the airline continued to grow – even increasing the number daily flights while construction was in progress – the construction team, led by general contractor Turner Construction, was forced to build a temporary facility that allowed for more gates and space for plane parking and deicing.

“That cut our site considerably,” says Emad Lotfalla, senior project executive for Turner. “That turned into a major challenge in terms of not only staging, but just the overall difficulty of the work. Efficiency became a real key for us.”

The anticipated completion date for the project is in early September.

Threading the Needle

The design of what will be known as Terminal 5,  is in stark contrast to the building it is essentially replacing – the iconic, Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Terminal, which will front the new facility. The Saarinen terminal, with its swooping concrete curves, will serve as the visual statement, while Gensler has imagined a subtle, sharp-lined metal and glass structure that the airline is more than happy to have serve as a functioning backdrop to its more striking neighbor.

The new facility will incorporate the old terminal by connecting to the TWA building’s signature pedestrian tubes, although the actual role of the Saarinen facility has yet to be defined.

“We had a certain flexibility in the design, but we were dealing with this icon of architecture that’s been here [since 1962] and isn’t going anywhere,” says Ty Osbaugh, an architect on the project and a senior associate with Gensler. “We’re dealing with a historical building and there were certain things that we just couldn’t change, so there was a negotiation of space. We were absolutely threading the needle.”

The terminal will have 26 gates, up from the 13 currently in operation, and will cover 650,000 sq ft over 72 acres. The exterior features a “modest” collection of materials in an attempt to keep costs low, Hooper says.

The roof, which slopes east to west from the airside to the front, is aluminum, while glass is used just sparingly with the absence of any curtain wall. The steel frame and reinforced concrete deck were built atop a foundation of about 3,000 steel piles with about 80 tons of capacity per pile. Glass paneling at the top and bottom of the sloped roof allow for considerable natural light to fill the vast, open interior.

Entrance to the terminal comes from three main areas: the arrival drop-off point at the front of the building; through the pedestrian tubes of the Saarinen terminal; and through a 900-ft enclosed skyway that connects the terminal to AirTrain, the rail link between JFK and much of the New York City region.

Inside, exposed steel roof supports run from the airside wall to the front of the building. Visitors from the skywalk will be greeted by an escalator that carries them to the expansive main floor, which will feature the largest security check area in the world with 20 full positions and space built in for more if needed.

The openness of the ticketing hall is designed to give visitors a sightline to the ticket areas and security checks from any vantage point in the building.

“The intention is to allow everyone to see where they have to go before they even take a step,” says Hooper. “Speed and efficiency is the mantra. We want people to see for themselves how they can get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. There will be signage, but the point is for people to be able to see it with their own eyes.”

The ticketing hall and security area gives way to what is being called the “glowing blue box” – the large, open community space that will feature 90 percent of the terminal’s concessions, as well as a stadium-style seating area and public art installations.

“We’re very cognizant of the passenger anxiety of, ‘I want to get my ticket, get past security and then I’m through and can relax,’” says Richard Smyth, vice president of redevelopment for JetBlue. “So once you’re through, that’s when you are finally greeted with the kind of amenities that JetBlue customers are used to.”

Growth vs. Speed

Turner’s Lotfalla says construction at existing airports typically brings with it one inherent challenge: Most airport sites have to deal with soil contaminated with hydrogen fuel from the aircraft. And coordinating mechanicals and construction around all existing utilities carries the constant threat of disrupting the entire airport’s operations.

“The last thing you want to do is impact JFK by damaging its existing utilities,” he says.

So the contaminated soil was removed and a full-time environmental team was brought in to coordinate the cleanup with Turner, JetBlue and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the airport.

But building for JetBlue presented another colossal challenge for the construction team. JetBlue is a growing airline, and it had no plans of allowing the construction of a $750 million terminal to slow it down.

With the new terminal effectively doubling the number of JetBlue gates, the airline wanted to ensure that it was prepared to handle the increased capacity from day one. So it increased its number of gates from 13 to 20 through the construction of a temporary facility, built within the 72-acre footprint of the new terminal.

In addition, a 20-acre area of the site was paved then set aside for storing and de-icing additional aircraft. When the dust had settled, the site had been reduced by about 26 acres.

“The demand [for more gates] was already there, and we didn’t want to have to wait until the terminal was completed and then try to become a 26-gate operation,” Smyth says. “We wanted to get as close as we could to a 26-gate operation before then. And that meant doing it in part of the new footprint for the project.”

Lotfalla laughs when asked how the unusual request impacted construction.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “You just do it. You always have to accommodate your client and understand their needs.”

To that end, Turner started its team working around the clock and expedited several programs, increased the number of workers onsite (hitting its 700-worker peak last summer) and changed routes for deliveries and staging.

The plan was to figure another way to do the work without impacting operations,” Lotfalla adds. “You’ve got a fast-growth owner, you’d better fast-track the project.”