Nashville International Airport’s Concourse D and ticketing area expansion has received another prestigious honor: this time, being named one of the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)’s best projects for 2021. BNA’s Concourse D and Terminal Wings Expansion was one of three aviation projects chosen for a DBIA Merit Award and one of 30 projects nationwide to earn this elite recognition. It was completed by the design-build team of Hensel Phelps and Fentress Architects in coordination with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA).
“We’re honored by this mark of distinction from the Design-Build Institute of America, and are immensely proud of BNA’s Concourse D and Terminal Wings Expansion,” said Doug Kreulen, BNA president and CEO. “This award represents more than two years of hard work by the Hensel Phelps, Fentress and MNAA teams that resulted in exceptional new facilities for BNA travelers. It also signifies $79 million in contracts for small, minority and woman-owned business enterprises (SMWBEs), a 73 percent local workforce and a model of sustainability. We’ve set a high bar for BNA Vision, and this award is an example of our commitment.”
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) is an association of leaders in the design and construction industry utilizing design-build and integrated project delivery methods to achieve high-performance projects.
DBIA’s 2021 award-winning projects were evaluated by a distinguished panel of experts in design-build project delivery. As a Merit Award winner, BNA will compete for a National Award of Excellence and Project of the Year distinction, which will be announced at DBIA’s Design-Build Conference and Expo Awards Ceremony in November.
The Concourse D and Terminal Wings project added roughly 315,000 square feet of new terminal space as part of the ongoing BNA Vision expansion and renovation program. The 115,000-square-foot Concourse D includes six domestic aircraft gates operated by Southwest Airlines, compelling public art displays and a variety of customer conveniences and amenities. The 200,000-square-foot terminal wings expansion added new ticketing and baggage claim space to the north and south ends of the central terminal and entailed renovations encompassing 136,000 square feet of existing terminal space. Completing the project scope: a new, modern, 11,000-square-foot central utility plant that heats and cools the entire passenger terminal.
In addition to this most recent honor, BNA’s Concourse D earned two other noteworthy awards for excellence:
• In March 2021, the Southeast Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives (SEC-AAAE) named Concourse D its 2021 Commercial Airport Architectural Project of the Year — a mark of distinction awarded by airport industry peers.
• In December 2020, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded Concourse D the coveted LEED Silver certification for green design and construction. At the time of this award, BNA’s Concourse D was one of only nine newly constructed airport facilities in the world to attain this distinction under USGBC’s rigorous LEED v4 standards.
In addition to Hensel Phelps and Fentress Architects, other key partners on this project included Corgan (master architect for BNA Vision), I. C. Thomasson Associates Inc. (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer), Magnusson Klemencic Associates (engineer) and specialty contractors including GNS Mechanical Systems, Isec, JCI, Langan, Nashville Machine, Wolfe and Travis, Smith Seckman Reid Inc. and S&ME.
The Concourse D and Terminal Wings Expansion was the first major terminal expansion project completed as part of BNA Vision, which is dramatically remaking the airport to meet existing needs and future demand. Other BNA Vision projects to be completed by 2023 will include a larger central terminal, a state-of-the-art International Arrivals Facility, expanded central security checkpoint, an on-airport hotel, top-to-bottom terminal renovation, a variety of new dining, retail and service amenities, new satellite concourse and a massive terminal parking garage complex.
As with all other airport capital improvement projects, no local tax dollars are being used to fund BNA Vision. Take a virtual 360-degree tour, view renderings and watch the BNA Vision video at BNAVision.com.
