SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill) breaks ground on creating the “Most ambitious expansion” of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Chicago’s ambitious $8.5 billion airport expansion, designed by SOM in collaboration with Ross Barney Architects, Arup, and JGMA, has just broken ground. This airport project by the City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), in collaboration with world-renowned architects, marks the first building in the ORDNext.
It is a new chapter in Chicago’s airport modernization, expected to be completed in late 2028. Planning for the next Concourse E, the second satellite in the next concourse series, by the same team. The ORDNext expansion of the airport will add two new concourses, along with a new global terminal, and a tunnel linking the facilities. The airport’s planning and design are dedicated to welcoming and serving more than 80 million each year. “The vision for the Concourse D was creating architecture that considers the entire journey for a passenger from curb to gate,”- SOM Design partner Scott Duncan.
SOM has released unseen renderings of the Concourse D design with Orchard-inspired columns and curved structural elements informed by Midwestern rivers. The meticulously planned and designed elements of the airport contribute to elevating the airport architecture experience for the passengers. The layout of the structure is shaped by soft, curved, and fluid lines that have been inspired by the oxbow bends of the Midwestern rivers, and it defines the terminal zones of various activities.
Concourse D in particular is designed to serve as a “Node” with intersecting elements, with an underground tunnel linking the new Concourse E building. It also connects the O’Hare Global Terminal on one side of the terminal, and on the other side is another upcoming new building for the project by Studio Gang, connecting the main airport. Concourse D is sitting between the two new upcoming buildings.
The distinctive character of the structural system of the Concourse is minimized to an extent to reduce the embodied carbon. The structural system minimizes the number of vertical supports utilized, with branched columns inspired by orchards, which gave rise to the name for the airport.
The minimal integration of the structural elements allowed the design to enhance the sightlines, thereby opening views of the entire concourse. The minimized systems enabled in creating a roof structure with contours and overhangs are tuned to the local climate, regulating temperature and daylight. The support beams are designed to splay out to support the curved roof structure. The design of the entire terminal incorporates sustainable strategies that improve the efficiency of the terminal design.
The centre is designed as the primary arrival point for all the passengers and serves as a welcoming threshold for the concourse experience. The centre of the concourse consists of a multi-level space with a gigantic oculus that floods all the levels with direct sunlight. The soft and curved layout is integrated with a landscape area that organizes the spaces into a distinctive zone characterized by colors, textures, and plants that create a native Midwestern landscape habitat.
SOM’s rendering of Concourse D’s interiors with the characteristic multi-level skylight spaces to orchard-inspired columns, which contribute to elevating the airport into a bright space for easy navigation, leaves a memorable impression on the Concourse. The multi-level spaces consist of amenity spaces with biophilic elements on the lower levels and a premium club lounge on the upper levels. Some spaces in the interiors showcase a circular space lined with two mezzanine spaces below the oculus opening. The interior rendering showcases bright and warm spaces, leaving a lasting impression with the meticulously designed elements and spaces.
O’Hare International Airport project details:
Project name: O’Hare International Airport—Concourse D
Location: Chicago, United States
Architect: SOM
Year: 2028 expected for completion
Photography: City of Chicago
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