b'24 ORD PARKING PHOTO: AECOM HUNT CLAYCO BOWA JVForm and Function Featuredin New Parking Garage at OHare Intl BY PAUL NOLANOperational efficiency and the customer experience areOne probably doesnt think of parking too important for North American airports to live by thegarages being high-profile pieces of mantra form over function. So the Chicago Departmentarchitecture, but it dawned on us from of Aviation went for both when planning the new Terminal 5the get-go that unless we put everything parking garage at OHare International (ORD).underground, this was going to have a Form was important, more so than usual, because the newpowerful impact on the public perception six-story structure would block visitors view. Previously, travelersof the airport given its size and location, approaching the airport from Interstate 190 saw the recentlyexplains SCB Design Principal MartinMARTIN WOLFrenovated Terminal 5, complete with a modern glass entryway andWolf. There was a strong impetus to do decorative colored lighting. Now, they see the new parking facility. something different design-wise rather than view it as simply a utilitarian building.Since we were losing the visual to the terminal, we wanted to make sure theThe firm has designed other parking garages in Chicago garage was something that would be visuallythat incorporate similar metal panel facades as well as some appealing, says Jeff Randerson, assistantwith translucent glass facades. Cladding the ORD garage commissioner for the Chicago Departmentwith diagonally placed metal siding not only provided a more of Aviation. aesthetically appealing appearance, it also proved to be cost-effective compared to more conventional cladding systems, Wolf Designed by SCB, the $191 million garagenotes.is clad in corrugated metal siding with helicalJEFF RANDERSONramps at both ends of the structurean upgraded alternativeGrowth and Evolving Useto the boxy, no-frills appearance of most concrete parkingThe garage, which opened last fall, provides the first covered structures. parking for Terminal 51,704 spaces in all. Previously, the terminal October 2025AirportImprovement.com'