b'40 SAN TERMINALSThe new terrace is primarily intended for patrons of nearby food and beverage concessions.process. The Airport Authority should beshades is cumbersome for airport staff. Wanting better conditions commended for taking a leap of faith whenin the new terminal, the Airport Authority asked Gensler to bring in many other airports were hitting pause onworld-renowned glass architect James Carpenter.projects, says Turner Vice President andYoung, from Gensler, says it was an honor and a privilege Design Director Lori Ann Stevens. They tookto work with Carpenter and his associates on the ticketing hall a risk and said, Lets keep going. faade design. Inspired by the San Diego Bay and Pacific Ocean Scott Brickner, vice president and chiefdirectly across from the airport, Carpenter designed curved, fritted financial officer with the Airport Authority,LORI ANN STEVENS and unitized glass panels that provide the shade, energy savings recalls that the decision to move forwardand sense of place the Airport Authority desired. As an added with the project felt risky. Traffic at SAN hadbonus, the 800-foot-long, 33-foot-high feature is also a piece of dropped to 3% of pre-pandemic numberspublic art known as Luminous Wave. and all non-airline revenue was gone. EvenOriginally designed to be modular, it ended up being 537 though the airport received approximatelyindividual pieces of curved glass from Enclos Corp. The $200 million of federal relief funding, themanufacturing and installation process was a global effort, with decision to move forward was largely seen asfull-height components traveling from China to Thailand to San gutsy.SCOTT BRICKNER Diego and arriving intact. Each piece of glass had its own unique However, proceeding with the project while passenger activityfrit identity and needed to be placed in an exact order on the was low allowed construction crews to mobilize more easily andfloor to ensure the right curves during installation. Crews used work more efficiently. It was also a great time to bid the work andcustom equipment with suction cups to lift each panel into place, borrow almost $2 billion because interest rates were extremelywith engineering on the fly to make everything fit together as low, Brickner adds. Our debt issuance back in 2021 saved overenvisioned by Carpenter. $400 million compared to our original plan of finance due to the Thanks to extensive planning, installation favorable interest rates we secured, he elaborates.of the wall system went more smoothly thanI think a lot of people thought it was goingKeeping It Glassy to go, says Turner Vice President andThe design for Terminal 1 capitalizes on the areas weatherProject Director Steve Rule. The team did(sunlight nearly 365 days a year) and the airports stunning viewsa fantastic job.of water and city. The challenge, which has been a trial-and-error experiment over time in Terminal 2, was to manipulate windows,Foundational Thinking STEVE RULEglass treatments and shades to reduce the glare and heat fromThe structure for the new 1.1 million-square-foot terminal sunlight on people and infrastructure inside the terminal. uses buckling-restrained braces to help comply with seismic At certain times of the year, ticket agents struggle with glarerequirements for buildings near an active fault. The steel on their computer screens, the common-use self-service kioskscomponents are specially engineered to absorb and disperse are difficult for customers to read, and maintaining the windowearthquake forces. November | December 2025AirportImprovement.com'