A new Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) terminal designed by Woods Bagot is now complete. The project was a close collaboration between Woods Bagot, W.E. O’Neil Construction, and Buro Happold.
The recent unveiling of Midfield Satellite Concourse South (MSC South) happened ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28) when, in two years, a crush of visitors will experience MSC South first hand.
The new terminal measures 150,000 square feet and has eight gates for narrowbody aircraft, adding necessary capacity for Tom Bradley International Terminal.
To move the project along quickly and efficiently, and to cut costs, building segments were fabricated offsite, transported almost two miles to the airfield, and then erected.
Matt Ducharme, Woods Bagot’s principal and North America Design Director, said in a statement the MSC South project is “a new paradigm for how we think about large-scale aviation projects, from delivery to design.”
Floor-to-ceiling windows wash the interiors with natural light. The glazing is partially shielded by a robust shading structure. The angled Brise-soleil gives the facade exterior visual prominence, and counteracts solar glare.
On each of the volumes the slats comprising the system decrease in length across the elevation, diagonally splitting each volume into two parts, with the top half covered by slats and the bottom half’s glazing left exposed.
Inside the terminal, the ceiling is covered in horizontal slats. The texture on the ceiling, combined with the window mullions and Brise-soleil, delivers a dynamic linear pattern.
This rectilinearity and the attention paid to framing views outward was inspired by California’s famous Case Study Homes, Wood Bagot said, and Californian modernism more broadly.
Last year, the new LAX/Metro Transit Center designed by Grimshaw, Gruen Associates, and Arup also opened to the public. The new transit center was a major step forward in handling the immense passenger volume LA28 will surely bring.
The project team behind MSC South is now aiming for LEED Silver certification.