Engineering Inc - September/October 2017 - 25

MULTI PROJECT

FIRM: SYSKA HENNESSY
GROUP, INC.
SAN FRANCISCO

T

erminal 1 is one of San Francisco
International Airport's (SFO) oldest facilities. Built in the 1960s, the
terminal is now undergoing an over
$4-billion multiphase redevelopment to
meet modern traveler needs and enhance
passenger experience.
Syska Hennessy Group was charged
with providing mechanical, electrical,
architectural lighting and vertical transportation design services for the Terminal
1 Interim Boarding Area B. This $100
million project, which began in October
2014 and was completed in April 2017,
involved reconfiguring the existing 18-gate
terminal to a high-capacity nine-gate facility to maintain current operations over a
four- to six-year period while the rest of
the terminal is redeveloped.
Three critical aspects of the project were:
* Enhancing the passenger experience,
even though it would be a short-term
facility
* Incorporating a sustainable approach

through collaboration among the entire
team, again despite the short anticipated life of the facility
* Keeping costs low
In planning the terminal's interim
reconfiguration, it was not difficult to
come up with life-extension type upgrades
to improve the customer experience. By
considering the longer term, designers also
were able to take a sustainable approach.
For example, much of the newly purchased major mechanical and electrical
equipment may be reusable in subsequent
stages of the terminal redevelopment.
"The new air handler that we installed
for the rotunda expansion, where we
added two gates, can be reused in another
portion of the SFO redevelopment," says
Jose Herrera, principal with Syska Hennessy Group.
Large mechanical construction cost savings were achieved by upgrading, rather
than replacing, existing air handling units
(AHU) where possible, including filtration, fan selection and distribution. Electrostatic and carbon filters were added to
both existing and new AHUs serving passenger areas to enhance indoor air quality,
and all AHU supply fans were upgraded
to fan-array type on variable
frequency drives for increased
system efficiency.

An Affordable,
Sustainable
Upgrade for an
Interim Facility

In addition to enhancing air distribution
in the public areas of the terminal, such as
children's play areas and passenger waiting areas, bathroom air change rates were
increased and temperature controllability
was added. A pet relief room was also built
with proper ventilation rates, lighting and
plumbing services.
Kitchen exhaust systems for restaurants
and other food concessions were improved,
and cooling, ventilation and power systems for special system rooms, such as
server closets, were upgraded to meet SFO
requirements in redundancy, pressurization
and increased capacity.
"We had to make sure the MEP infrastructure supporting Interim Boarding Area
B would be maintained when we detached
from the main substation to allow work to
proceed on the main portion of Terminal
1," Herrera says. "That required installing
a new standby generator, but it too can be
reused elsewhere in the future."
New LED lighting was designed for
architectural design alignment, even footcandle coverage and reduced energy use.
The new lighting also allows the facility to
be Title 24 compliant, in terms of controllability and durability, and enhances passenger comfort to a point
far beyond the typical
interim facility.
Brightly lit and inviting
children's play areas are
among the many options
passengers now have to enjoy
as they spend time in the
Terminal 1 Interim Boarding
Area B.

Jose Herrera

CORGAN

PROJECT: SAN FRANCISCO
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - TERMINAL
1 INTERIM BOARDING AREA B
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc - September/October 2017
