Accessible design for all

As part of the Alaska Airlines Group (AAG) Northstar project, their regional carrier, Horizon Airlines, was looking to make some significant changes at the Seattle Tacoma International Airport. They needed help managing the expansion of their $9.5-million operations to improve passenger mobility. That’s why that came to OAC.

We collaborated with the airport building department and fire marshall to lead the design and construction with AAG through the bid phase to ensure all life safety and code provisions were satisfied. We designed transparent weather-protected glass enclosures wrapping the sloped walkways and new elevators at each gate. As part of each design milestone, our team provided cost estimates, and the bids received were right in line with our calculations.

The outcome? New walkways that are easy to navigate and 2 new, 10,000-lb capacity freight elevators located symmetrically on each side of the full-height curved glazed curtainwall of the airport’s Central Terminal (CTE). These new 4-stop freight elevators provide an improved experience for passengers looking to fly Horizon Airlines with direct access to the basement, ramp, ticketing and mezzanine levels, which provides enhanced capacity and enables future growth for foodservice businesses.