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Alfonso Architects incorporated the use of a glass curtain wall system to provide an open feeling throughout the terminal.(Photo by George Cott/courtesy of Alfonso Architects).
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Albert Alfonso, principal of Alfonso Architects of Tampa, strived to achieve a feeling of the romance of aviation with his design of Tampa International Airport's new Airside C terminal.
"This one's going to stand on its own."
That's what Albert Alfonso, principal of Alfonso Architects, Tampa, said as Beck of Tampa was in the midst of realizing his design for the $78 million, 315,000-sq.-ft. Airside C, the newest and biggest airside terminal at Tampa International Airport.
It was a somewhat ambitious statement. The recently completed Airside E had won its share of awards and had certainly pleased the owner, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.
Also, as one of several spoke terminals that revolve around the main airport building, Airside C would need to be similar in size and function to the other buildings - in other words, one of several and, as far as the owner was concerned, not necessarily one of a kind.
To overcome that limitation, Alfonso thought big - perhaps as big as an architect can when it comes to airport terminal design. With Eero Saarinen's iconic TWA terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport as a major inspiration, Alfonso sought to evoke the romance of aviation that had been symbolized by the TWA building during its heyday in the 1960s.
For the entirety of Airside C's side facing the airplanes and runways, Alfonso used a slightly curving glass curtain-wall system - featuring a green glass installed by Harmon Inc. that had never been used at TIA - to gain an uncluttered look and, he said, to make it appear "like you have this floating wing that floats over the building."
In other places, he was less subtle, hanging a wing-like structure vertically in the midst of a skylight overhanging a walkway. Miniature airplanes adorn a play area that awaits children with a little time on their hands.
Even the security area was pleasing to the eye, said Randy Gillespie, property manager for Southwest Airlines, the main tenant of Airside C.
"What's not to like©" Gillespie said. "I never thought I'd hear myself saying that the security area is gorgeous, but it is."
Lou Russo, senior director of planning and development for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, said, "It is one of the most successful projects we have accomplished in recent years. From the feedback I have received, the airlines, TSA and the passengers are quite pleased with the way it turned out."
Speed in Construction The design-build team of Beck and Alfonso achieved success in the terminal's construction, even though it is the biggest terminal to date at TIA and the first to be designed and built in the state of Florida in the post-Sept. 11 security environment.
For example, Beck and its team of subcontractors built Airside C approximately seven months faster than it took to build Airside E, which was completed by Skanska USA Building a few years prior to this one.
One reason for this ultimate success may have been the close interaction the designer and builder had during the preconstruction stage. Chuck Hoppe, business development director for Beck, said the contractor's project director, project administrator and project manager all worked out of Alfonso's offices for several months.
"We initiated a design studio in Albert's offices," he added. "That openness and communication seemed to work real well."
The ultimate design also would have a sense of openness, Hoppe said. "It's immense and grand. It's not confining. It feels great," he said.
"He (Alfonso) wanted (the design) to go back to the old-time feeling of getting on an airplane, and I think he accomplished that."
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