The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority last week selected the design concept for the Hollywood Burbank Airport’s new terminal.
Commissioners unanimously selected the concept called “The Icon” at their meeting last week, choosing it among three other concepts provided by architecture firm Corgan, which is part of the joint venture working on the design-build of the terminal. Construction on the terminal is expected to begin in spring 2024, the airport authority said.
“The commission looked at what would be a ‘statement of arrival,’” Emily Gabel-Luddy, airport authority commission president and former Burbank councilwoman said in a statement. “‘The Icon’ affords that statement with its roofline and its deep shadow-giving cover over the plaza and arrival point, but also how it goes across the face of the parking structure.”
Designers described “The Icon” as being inspired by the “glitz and glam” of Hollywood and recognizing the film industry’s roots in the region. An overarching canopy from the terminal twists and becomes the façade of the parking garage.
Other proposals from Corgan included “The Century,” which paid tribute to mid-century architecture, and “The Paseo,” a more contemporary design that made use of natural lighting and shadows throughout the interior.
The new terminal will replace the original facility — constructed in 1930 — with a modern 355,000-square-foot building which accounts for modern safety and accessibility regulations and retains the existing 14 airline gates. Burbank voters approved the replacement project by referendum in 2016; the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 shelved major work on the project for around 18 months, and the authority only selected the joint venture for the design-build in December.
The Holder, Pankow, TEC Joint Venture includes Atlanta-based Holder Construction, which has handled numerous airport projects nationwide; Pasadena-based Pankow Builders, which has handled local projects like the Mission College East Campus Complex in Sylmar and the Zev Yaroslavsky Family Support Center in Van Nuys; Inglewood-based TEC Constructors & Engineers, which has contributed to numerous projects at Los Angeles International Airport; Dallas-based Corgan, an architecture firm that has a plethora of airport projects, including at LAX, in its portfolio; New York-based CannonDesign, which worked on the Showtime West Coast headquarters in West Hollywood; and Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell, which boasts a variety of aviation engineering expertise.