Annual fuel costs will be reduced for airlines, as planes travel shortened distances to the midfield terminal.

One of the nation’s largest current building projects is also driving the evolution of forward-looking green building technologies. The $1.1 billion New Indianapolis Airport will move to the front of the line in passenger service and security. It will showcase dramatic commissioned art. And its design, engineering and construction systems will qualify the airport as one of America’s largest and most visible Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects.

Companies working on the airport are gaining experience in LEED technology, whose benefits will be seen in other building projects for years to come. For example, thousands of people each day will congregate in an airy, bright public plaza. The glass on the massive skylight above them contains fritting — small dots placed on glass windows and skylights — allowing natural light to enter the terminal while cutting heat and energy costs.

Huge glass walls frame each concourse and invite the eye toward the busy airfield and Indianapolis’ skyline some seven miles away. The fritting allows energy efficiency while providing visitors with views of their surroundings.

The new parking garage will accommodate 5,900 cars, more than three times as many as the current garage. In addition, the first floor of the new garage will offer car rentals from eight agencies. Passengers will be able to get to their cars from the terminal via a moving walkway. Provided by Indianapolis Airport Authority.

At night, the terminal will capture light, limiting the amount of unnecessary illumination that escapes into the sky, thus reducing energy costs. Besides, light pollution could distract pilots.

“The new midfield terminal is the airport’s signature project,” says Airport Executive Director John J. Kish. “The terminal needs to be sustainable and respect the land from which it springs. In the end, Indianapolis will have a facility our community can be proud of, architecturally and environmentally, and Indiana companies involved in the project will gain immeasurable experience in building green.”

Detailed Design

Approximately 227 acres of the airport’s more than 7,700 acres are considered part of the LEED certification project. It includes the new terminal, control tower, airport access roads and the hotel site, all of which spring from an undeveloped site that is nearly a mile wide and more than two miles in length.

The air traffic control tower is the most visible component and has been in operation since 2006. At 340 feet, it is the nation’s third tallest air traffic control tower and is twice as tall as its predecessor.

The project’s location — right in the middle of the airfield — is the most obvious sign of the New Indianapolis Airport’s commitment to good environmental practices, and it’s not even a LEED criterion. The terminal, control tower and adjacent structures are between the runways that have served the airport for decades. The runways will continue to be the scene of more than 600 daily flight operations. Airlines will save $12 million annually in fuel costs because planes will taxi much shorter distances to the new midfield terminal.

Reducing fuel costs and emissions is a welcome part of the overall package, but it’s the airport’s designs and building systems that help the structure qualify for LEED certification. Adding to the challenge: considerations for security and the size of the project.

As the first major U.S. airport designed and constructed after the terrorist attacks of 2001, effective security and traffic flow are built in.

The new terminal has 40 gates, 96 passenger check-in counters, 18 passenger-screening checkpoints and 1.2 million square-feet of space (including 90,000 square feet for retail). Much of the space, such as the public civic plaza under the new terminal’s graceful, wing-like ten-acre roof and skylight, will be open to all visitors in addition to the 8.5 million travelers who will pass through each year.

The new airport will have its own interchange on Interstate 70, just west of I-465. This well-marked exit will allow drivers to make simpler, more intuitive choices about parking areas, rental car returns and where to pick up or drop off passengers. Provided by Indianapolis Airport Authority.

Examples of technology that will save energy and be environmentally friendly may not be easily seen, but they will be everywhere, from the glass ceilings to low-tech construction techniques. They include:

• Reusing more than 7,248 tons of asphalt and concrete from old taxiways and roadways as construction site fill. In addition to reducing the amount of construction waste dumped into area landfills, re-using existing pavement is more cost-effective.
• A two-tiered recovery system that allows the collection, treatment and potential recycling of runoff from aircraft de-icing procedures. The system routes runoff from aircraft de-icing areas into separate treatment paths for high and low concentration of de-icer.
• Using skylights and large light wells to allow natural light to illuminate the terminal, thereby cutting energy usage and costs. Fritting (small dots placed on glass windows and skylights) will allow natural light to enter the terminal while cutting heat and energy costs.
• Installing high-quality, low-E shaded glass to reduce air-conditioning.
• Radiant heating and cooling coils are installed right below the floor and air is circulated about 12 feet off the ground to maintain comfort where the people walk, sit and eat. The views and sightlines are magnificent but not expensive to regulate for climate control.
• Building a tunnel under an existing runway (take offs and landings were not affected) to carry water, electric and digital service to the new terminal from the airport’s existing power plant. The existing power plant had undergone significant upgrades and is energy efficient. The tunnel meant there was no need to build a new power plant.
• Harvesting the root balls of trees from the construction site and installing them into the banks of area streams to help provide habitat for local fish species.

All this environmental sensitivity has built into the project since the first day of design work, so the construction costs have not been significantly higher than normal.

“The Airport Authority has a strong commitment to making the project environmentally friendly and sustainable,” says Greta Hawvermale, assistant project director. “In deciding how to measure and control the environmental aspect of the construction, the team of architects and designers determined that following LEED standards would be the best method to meet the objectives of the Airport Authority Board.”

Civic Plaza: The crossroads of the new terminal will be Civic Plaza, a circular space under a 200-foot-diameter skylight and a view of the downtown Indianapolis skyline that will be the center of shopping, dining and events. It will be in the pre-security area, so everyone will be welcome there. Provided by Indianapolis Airport Authority.

Achieving Certification and Gaining Experience

Currently, there is not a LEED scale specifically for airports. However, the new Indianapolis Airport project team identified 51 elements that could apply to an airport environment. In order to receive LEED certification, the airport will have to be awarded at least 26 points.

The New Indianapolis Airport was one of the first LEED projects in the Midwest and remains the largest. Some contractors who have little previous experience with LEED projects have surmounted a steep learning curve. Key to LEED certification is documentation. All materials that are used on the project, any materials removed from the site, and other activities that can be certified are clearly detailed.

A vision for constructing a new Indianapolis airport began in 1975, when the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) adopted a master plan for airport development. The plan called for upgrading the two parallel runways and a non-intersecting crosswind runway. Room was left between those runways for a new midfield terminal complex and new direct access from nearby Interstate 70. The plan completely re-invented the airport that was first placed on what amounted to a small parcel of land at the site in 1931.

An aerial view of the New Indianapolis Airport, which was one of the first LEED projects in the Midwest and remains one of the largest.

In 2002, the airport authority selected St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum, Inc., (HOK) as master designer for the new airport. The IAA instituted a local LEED initiative even before ground was broken for the new terminal in July 2005. The IAA’s overall goals in incorporating the LEED program are: to construct an environmentally sound project; to provide local companies and contractors with LEED education and training so they may incorporate the program into future projects; and to raise general environmental awareness in central Indiana.

Richard Potosnak, president of Aviation Capital Management, says, “The airport really is giving Indiana and Midwestern design, engineering and construction companies a jump-start when it comes to learning about LEED techniques.

“Airports are often criticized for environmental insensitivity — and too often builders are behind the curve in finding new ways to do things. This project is giving all of us an opportunity to learn the very latest earth-friendly ways of doing things,” Potosnak says.

Blackburn Architects of Indianapolis, coordinators of the Airport’s LEED effort, anticipates the project’s benefit to designers, contractors, and other participants. “This project will help us all in the long run,” says Jon Clifford, Blackburn’s LEED administrator. “Helping to craft the nation’s most environmentally friendly airport will be a continued source of pride and achievement for all. Involvement in this project will certainly boost the profile and competitiveness of the participating firms.”

The New Indianapolis Airport arrives on schedule in October.