Logan Airport, Terminal E, Boston
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECTS: AECOM and Luis Vidal + Architects
FABRICATOR/INSTALLER: LYMO Construction Co.
MATERIALS
The goal of the Logan Airport Terminal E modernization was to “create a sustainable, high-performance, resilient and resource-efficient building that is a comfortable and healthy environment for passengers and workers alike.”
To meet these goals the installation of aluminum composite material (ACM) took more than four years. Modernizing the facilities included the addition of four new gates, including three approved in 1995 but never built.
“The project required 400,000 square feet of 4-millimeter FR Core larson by Alucoil, which we fabricated into a rainscreen system,” says Dan Nadeau, vice president, preconstruction, at LYMO Construction. “The design criteria were very specific on all aspects of the ACM’s performance, color, finish, paint application and fabrication tolerances. The specification called for a prismatic [color shifting] paint system with multiple gloss levels to achieve the iconic design.”
Nadeau says each component of the wall assembly—metal studs, thermally broken cladding supports and rainscreen system—needed to be installed in the exact X, Y, Z position to maintain the surface geometry. That requires a full-time team of onsite surveyors and engineers to support the installation crews.
“The design team’s vision to create an ‘orb’ using an architectural metal was the biggest challenge,” Nadeau says. “Maintaining a surface with a geometry this complex required a year of collaboration and innovation. Rather than engineering rainscreen panels for fabrication, using traditional methods, innovative software, like Rhino and Grasshopper, were used to ‘script’ the final panel layout to ensure the final orb surface geometry was achieved. Each component of the wall assembly was embedded with X, Y, Z coordinates tied into the project’s site control.”
“The finished product absolutely achieved the goal of being the new icon at Logan International,” Nadeau remarks. “The surface geometry, color, gloss and design all make a dramatic statement. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome. It could not have been done without commitment, collaboration and new innovations.”
ALUMINUM COMPOSITE MATERIAL: FR Core larson by Alucoil
PHOTOS: Alucoil