Sea Change

Corpus Christi Airport Renovation Reflects Gulf Coast Heritage

By Jennifer Hiller

A redeveloped Corpus Christi International Airport recently reopened with a $34 million facelift that takes cues from the region's surf, seagulls and Hispanic heritage.

The project included the overhaul of the Hayden W. Head Terminal, taking a 1958 concrete building with long and winding pathways and creating a 165,000-sq.-ft., glass-fronted city landmark in its place.

DMJM+Harris of Houston was the construction manager and the general contractor was the Corpus Christi-based Fulton/Coastcon. The Houston office of Walter P. Moore was the structural engineer.

The project broke ground in March 2000, but construction went through seven phases to accommodate the operating airport and full flight schedule. The final steps included the relocation of the news and gift shops, additional food and retail areas and the relocation of the security checkpoint.

Gensler Architects of Houston designed the two-story terminal. Architect Richard Maxwell said the firm met for more than a year with the Corpus Christi City Council, the airport board and local residents in public hearings to get input.

"We took the ideas of seagulls and wings and the surf and water," Maxwell said. "We wanted to make sure that those concepts came across to the public with the waves in the front of the terminal."

The waveform of the roof is the airport's most distinctive design element, but an abundance of tile, arches and stuccos walls also recall the area's Hispanic heritage. The city implemented a conceptual landscape plan that features tropical plantings.

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The wave-shaped canopy was partially constructed from the existing canopy roof framing to save money and help the environment through recycling. Several existing canopy foundations also were reused to support the new canopy.

Structural engineers said they looked at several options for the building, including steel-framed versus concrete-framed construction, reusing portions of the existing steel-canopy roof versus using all new steel for the new canopy and using precast cladding versus concrete masonry units.

Based on the costs and the construction schedule, Walter P. Moore engineers decided to go with a cast-in-place concrete frame consisting of a new ground-level slab on carton form, wide-pan joist construction for the second floor and steel framing for the roofs and canopy.

The long-span, reverse curvature roof beams with the compound curvature eyebrow contributed to the project's unique maritime look. To accommodate rolling and transportation, a splice was provided at the inflection point of the double curvature.

Because most of the existing terminal had to be torn down, a temporary connector had to be built between the ticket lobby and the west concourse before major construction could begin. Baggage claim and rental car companies had to be relocated to the west of the terminal.

Reusing the center concourse restrooms, a portion of the concession and the east and west concourses and their gates reduced temporary facilities costs and the impacts to airport travelers and employees.

. "Basically we built a new airport in the footprint of the old airport," said Jimmy Bednorz with Fulton/Coastcon. "The original building had some structural problems. We probably tore down 95 percent of it."

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks slowed construction, stopping work altogether for several days and giving workers new restrictions. "For about six weeks we couldn't park near the construction site," Bednorz said. "We had to shuttle workers in from a remote parking lot."

Sept. 11 also caused some design changes. Parking lots had to be reconfigured and the security checkpoints had to be moved. Architects had to give additional square footage to the security areas to accommodate the additional equipment and higher number of screeners required.

"We were fortunate in that many of our plans were still on the drawing board," said airport marketing coordinator Amy Gazin. "The changes for us were really on paper."

The airport renovation and addition were part of a city plan to stop Corpus Christi residents from driving to San Antonio, Houston or Austin to find lower fares. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the city loses 225,000 passengers a year to San Antonio.

Gazin said one of the biggest changes for passengers is a shorter walk from the ticket counter to the gates. The longest walk to get to a gate in the new terminal is about 540 ft., compared with 820 ft. previously - saving passengers nearly an entire football field of walking.

Also, a roadway renovation added about 580 long- and short-term parking spots, nearly doubling the amount of available parking. Parking spots also were moved closer to the terminal, and drivers dropping off or picking up passengers are greeted by a covered terminal drive.

The project was funded by FAA grants, city bond money and airport passenger charges.

Contractor box:
Owner: City of Corpus Christi
Client: Department of Aviation, City of Corpus Christi
General Contractor: Fulton/Coastcon, Corpus Christi
Construction Manager: DMJM+Harris, Houston
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore, Houston
Architect: Gensler, Houston
Associate Architect: Bennett, Martin, Solka and Torno, Inc., Corpus Christi
Civil Engineer: Urban Engineers, Inc., Pennsauken, N.J.
MEP Engineer: ccrd partners, Houston
Civil Landside Engineer: Urban Engineering, Annadale, Va.