American firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been selected to design a pair of concourse terminals as part of the major Chicago O'Hare Airport expansion.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) will design two new satellite concourses, measuring 1.2 million square feet (111,483 square metres), to form part of the new O'Hare project, the City of Chicago revealed yesterday.
The buildings form part of the larger O'Hare Global Terminal project designed by Studio ORD ? a team led by US firm Studio Gang that comprises Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Corgan, Milhouse Engineering and Construction and STL Architects.
Studio ORD beat competition from SOM and a group of well-known firms ? including Foster + Partners and Santiago Calatrava ? to win the bid for the new concourse and terminal at Chicago O'Hare airport earlier this year. SOM and Studio ORD, who are both based in Chicago, are now expected to work closely together on the airport project. "We're excited to participate in the transformation of O'Hare," said SOM design partner Scott Duncan in a project description. "As a Chicago-based team with global expertise in aviation, we are proud to play a vital role in shaping the gateway to our city," continued Jonathan Stein, SOM managing partner.

Renderings of SOM's scheme reveal spacious buildings with glass walls, high ceilings, pale wooden interiors and rounded ceilings. A feature of the interiors is ample sunlight, as well as a number of biophilic design elemen...