Denver International Airport Expansion & Transit Hub

SnyderBock · #1 Posted **Jul 22, 2010, 12:17 AM**

The new South Terminal at Denver International Airport (DIA), will be a transit terminal for the airport. At the center of the terminal will be 6 rail platforms. 2 platforms for the extended airport subway tram which has connected the airports concourses to the main terminal since it's opening. There will be 2 EMU platforms for the East Corridor line from downtown Denver Union Station to the airport, which starts construction in early 2011. There will also be two auxiliary platforms for a future HSR line which is being planned by the State of Colorado & the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The automated baggage system (the new one, not the one that had problems back when DIA first opened), will be extended to the new South Terminal. There will be new retail added all through the south terminal. Plus the top several floors of the new terminal will be a 500-room, Westin Hotel.

Santiago Calatrava has promised a design as unique and signature as the existing Jeppeson Main Terminal, but in a way which will not detract from the Denver landmark.

Quote:

DIA to unveil South Terminal design
Denver Business Journal
Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 4:02pm MDT

Denver International Airport will unveil the design for its $160 million South Terminal renovation on July 29.

Project architect Santiago Calatrava of Zurich, Switzerland, will be in Denver for ceremony, according to the airport.

Parsons Transportation Group, the architecture firm selected in 2009 to design the South Terminal upgrade, brought on the Spanish-born Calatrava as the project’s signature architect. The seven-year project will include a new Westin terminal hotel, FasTracks transit station with open-air plaza on top, and expansion of the terminal’s fifth and sixth levels.

Calatrava is known for the bold steel and cable elements in his designs for bridges and buildings worldwide. His projects include the Bach de Roda bridge in Barcelona, the expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the World Trade Center transportation hub in New York...

Read more: DIA to unveil South Terminal design - Denver Business Journal

Octavian · #2 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 6:38 PM**

Current site (from Denver.org):

South terminal expansion:

Proposed rail bridge crossing the main road to Denver International Airport.

From the Denver Post.

Trains from this station will go to Denver's new downtown station now under construction (From the Denver Union Station site).

CONative · #3 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 6:44 PM**

Yum.......

wong21fr · #4 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 6:52 PM**

It's too bad that Union Station didn't have the money-spewing revenue streams that DIA has. There wouldn't have been any value engineering on that project then.

Cirrus · #5 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 7:31 PM**

Is there a site plan? I'm a little confused about how this is supposed to work.

Octavian · #6 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 7:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Is there a site plan? I'm a little confused about how this is supposed to work.

Not as of yet. There is this video to help orient you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUXDpy1nx8Q

Cirrus · #7 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 7:46 PM**

OK. Yeah I get it now, mostly.

The train shed is Awesome with a capital A, but I'm less enthused about the hotel. It looks cool in a 3 inch rendering, but it could be awfully bare for something a couple hundred feet long. Also, it blocks the view of DIA itself, which will make it much less iconic.

CONative · #8 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 7:55 PM**

It only blocks some of the tent if you are looking directly at it when looking north from the direct south. He deliberately left the middle open so you can see the tops of the tents. I think I am driving only about 10-15 seconds when looking at the terminal from the south (about the same when folks are on a train) on Pena Blvd. There isn't any other time you would be looking at it from the direct south. When you are on the rest of Pena, you can see the terminal building just fine...with the hotel next to it. Same goes when you are landing or taking off on a plane....

plinko · #9 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 8:45 PM**

The most iconic airport in arguably the Western Hemisphere gets even more iconic. Awesome.

I'm not sure about the hotel massings either, the 'white' glass seems odd. I'd almost rather see it totally reflective.

Matt · #10 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 9:35 PM**

YES! This is exactly what I was expecting from Calatrava. Structural beams, graceful cants, and WHITE.

The train shed is amazing. Simple, not overdone, but still hallmark Calatrava. Love it.

The rail bridge over Pena Blvd... well, I'm still cleaning up the mess I made after looking at it. Absolutely stunning.

The hotel is an interesting design, particularly the depression in the middle to preserve the viewplain of the terminal. I'm not sure if the hotel's white color is merely a product of the rendering or if he intended for the hotel to boast pearl white glass like that. If it will be white glass, I'm sure it will offer the feeling of translucence and plenty of reflective opportunities.

Does anyone know of examples of buildings that have been built with white glass?

Cirrus · #11 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 9:46 PM**

^
Great question.

I just assumed it would be a silvery reflective glass and that the rendering is unrealistic. It didn't even occur to me that white glass might actually be the proposal.

Busy Bee · #12 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 9:58 PM**

Feeeeelin hot hot hot!!! That bridge is embarrassingly beautiful! Like a modern harp which is one of the most stunningly gorgeous instruments ever devised.

Matt · #13 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 10:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cirrus

^
Great question.

I just assumed it would be a silvery reflective glass and that the rendering is unrealistic. It didn't even occur to me that white glass might actually be the proposal.

Yeah, but this is Calatrava. I truly believe the man is color-blind and can only see white

That being said, I'm actually rooting for an all white-glass hotel since it will meld perfectly into the entire color scheme and would be (a first?) in the world.

SnyderBock · #14 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 10:23 PM**

I'm really loving it. To me, the hotel towers look like table top mesa's which are common along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains such as the ones in Golden, Colorado. I like how the curvature of the canopy structures over the train platforms and plaza matches exactly the curvature of the end of the existing "tent" Jeppessen terminal roof. This allows this expansion to slide right in under the existing tent roof with perfection!

What's not seen, is the fact officials said the existing underground airport tram would be extended to the new train platforms. This feature would be completely inside the terminal extension and can not be seen from any of the current renderings available. I will assume this is still the case until I read something which states otherwise. I was expecting there to be 6 platforms instead of 4. This is because the airport had wanted the design to incorporate the ability to extend the airport underground tram south of the terminal, to a rental car facility. However, this was all preliminary so as more details to the inside of this plan are released, it should all become more clear.

^^ah yeah, and the all white... I am surprisingly enjoying it. The all white design looks better than I would have imagined it looking and it matches the existing airport perfectly--which will really help it look like part of the airport, instead of an add-on.

diablo234 · #15 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 10:48 PM**

Interesting design but the hotel blocks the view of the main terminal.

Matt · #16 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by diablo234

Interesting design but the hotel blocks the view of the main terminal.

There is quite the debate going on over at the Denver Post forums about blocking the view of DIA. First of all, the view of the terminal will NOT be blocked for virtually your entire trip along Pena Blvd. Only when you round the curve as you approach the terminal will your view be blocked by the hotel. Then again, at that point along Pena Blvd, you're not looking at the terminal - you're looking at the roadsigns to figure out what ramp to take for your airline and you're switching lanes to get onto the correct arrivals/departures ramp.

Also at that point in your journey (if you're not driving), there will be so much going on with the amazing hotel coming into view and the trains arriving and departing the platforms, and the train shed will be a marvel in itself. Obstructing the view of the terminal for a mere 10 to 15 seconds as you approach the airport isn't really a big deal.

Matt · #17 Posted **Jul 29, 2010, 11:46 PM**

Here is an extended video put out by Santiago Calatrava showing what the drive to the airport along Pena Blvd will look like. Notice how the view of the terminal is NOT blocked.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_15625013?_requestid=511811

CONative · #18 Posted **Jul 30, 2010, 1:26 AM**

My point exactly...

TwasBrillig · #19 Posted **Jul 30, 2010, 2:15 AM**

Spiffy

texcolo · #20 Posted **Jul 30, 2010, 6:14 AM**

I think it looks fantastic, but I am concerned about the hotel blocking the view of the main terminal. Maybe if there was a way he could block the view of the big blue horse instead.

It looks fantastic though.

Question: There's enough ROW in the median of Pena to run the train, why didn't they line the train straight down the median?