The Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the New York-based Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) studio to design the country's newest air traffic control towers. I.M. Pei's iconic mid-century towers will be replaced by PAU's adaptable and highly sustainable prototype, which offers a unique architectural solution that combines form and function for the twenty-first century. The new towers are vital to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. They have been updated to reflect aviation technology, safety development, and changing environmental and climatic conditions.
The brand-new air traffic control towers will be standardized but adaptable, allowing for customizing materials and colors to suit the requirements and reflect the regional identities of their various sites. The first 30 control towers, built from Detroit, MI, to Philadelphia, PA, Louisville, KY, to Key West, FL, might start construction as early as 2024. Geothermal heating and cooling will be used by PAU whenever possible to produce clean, renewable energy.
Providing clean, renewable energy, geothermal heating, and cooling PAU's architecture will also feature steel and metal products with high recycled content, low embodied carbon construction materials, incredibly efficient water fixtures and equipment, sophisticated measurement and energy monitoring, high-performance facades with little thermal bridging, and all-electric building systems. PAU's modular prototype also enables an effective building procedure by emphasizing shop fabrication over on-site work and reducing each tower's carbon impact.
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Airspace Architecture: Rethinking the HangarThese new air traffic control towers will mean that smaller airports can handle more flights, more sustainably and more affordably. I look forward to seeing this design go from the drawing board to construction sites across the country, helping our nation’s airports support more travelers, grow their local economies and prepare for the future of low-carbon aviation.
--U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Over the past few years, nations have moved towards more holistic and sustainable infrastructures and transportation hubs. Last month, Foster + Partners and Arup were chosen to design the new stations serving the California High-Speed Rail in the Central Valley. The stations will serve as carbon-free templates for other locations planned for the 500-mile Los Angeles to San Francisco line. In 2022, JAJA Architects won the competition organized by Denmark to develop resource-efficient and climate-friendly metro stations, using material-optimized design solutions to create a sustainable mobility hub. In Madrid, UNStudio and b720 Arquitectos were selected to deliver the integral remodeling for Madrid-Charmartín Clara Campoamor Stations and its urban integration.
