The Green Build is San Diego International Airport’s 494,000-square-foot, three-story addition to Terminal 2.  The expansion includes 10 additional contract aircraft gates, expanded dining and shopping facilities, security check points and an inline baggage screening matrix for the airport to continue to grow and soar. 

With construction taking place right next to the existing airport operations, we created extensive plans to assure no impacts to travelers. This included working night shifts for three years to accommodate for installation of temporary walls that connect the new terminal framing to the existing terminal exterior wall. 

The views from the sky are like no other, but the artwork in San Diego International Airport is also a site to be seen. The Green Build reflects the culture of the region and features art from local artists and architects who were brought on board early in the design-build process to collaborate and find unique opportunities to maximize the impact of art installations. The final products were a huge success. From a 700-foot light ribbon, to a linear transparent cloud with an active rain shower, the terminal is an aspiring place for visitors to connect to San Diego while connecting to their flights.

Going above and beyond the initial contract requirement of LEED Silver, the airport became the first in the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification, resulting in the terminal’s name – The Green Build. 

One of the features that helped the terminal reach this monumental goal was The Green Build’s baggage handling system that achieved 30% energy savings. 

The Green Build reached for the sky when it came to the design-build. From seamlessly integrating with an existing structure, to hiring local/small businesses, protecting the environment and eliminating impacts to the busiest single-runway commercial airport in the U.S., the project team was dedicated to taking on any challenge presented. 

Even in stages of turbulence, the project found a smooth, successful flight path and is now a benchmark for large design-build projects.