Los Angeles International Airport Tom Bradley International Terminal West Expansion
Details
- Size: 1,000,000 square feet
- Completion Date: 2013
- Sustainability: LEED Gold
Team
- Architect: Fentress Architects
- Contractor: Walsh Austin
Awards
- Building Team of the Year Award, 2013 AIA Los Angeles Design Awards, AIA Los Angeles
- Creative & Bold Engineering Design, 2013 AISC Special Achievement Awards, American Institute of Steel Construction
- Award Winner, 2013 ACI Annual Pankow Awards, American Concrete Institute
JAMA has been engaged with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) for decades, most recently assisting the authority and design teams with the transformation of this international gateway through more than ten significant projects. JAMA’s understanding of significant modernizations and construction within secure, continuous operational environments, and expertise in long-span structures have proven critical to our ongoing involvement and success at LAX.
One of the earliest expansion efforts in the City’s countdown to the 2028 Olympics was the renovation and expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). JAMA has been involved in several components of this multi-component project, including engineering of the nearly 1,000,000 square foot Bradley West Expansion aimed at improving the passenger experience and accommodating larger Airbus jumbo jets.
Terminal West Expansion (Construction and Completed)
The terminal’s rhythmic, sloping glass and steel roofs are meant to capture LA’s vibrant spirit and mimic the breaking waves of the nearby ocean. Since the architectural features and functions would not accommodate conventional structural solutions for lateral stability, JAMA’s engineers developed a curved moment frame concept with non-orthogonal moment connections. Such a moment frame connection had never before been used in high seismic regions such as Southern California. Through full-scale cyclic testing, the firm was able to prove the technical validity of the unique designs and obtain approval from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety to construct the systems.
