WASHINGTON, D.C. — The modernization of New York City’s aging Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport was recognized as a national Grand Award winner and a finalist for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Grand Conceptor Award.
The LaGuardia Terminal B Replacement Project was one of eight Grand Award winners feted as finalists for the Grand Conceptor Award. The awards were presented at the ACEC annual Engineering Excellence Awards Program held May 15 in Washington, D.C.
WSP, a leading engineering, environment and professional services consultancy, partnered with HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, in a joint venture to lead the new terminal design in collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority), the airport owner; and LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the airport operator. The team led the renovation of the nation’s busiest airport terminal through one of the largest public-private partnerships in U.S. history.
“Recognition of this project by ACEC as a Grand Award winner is a testament to our team’s dedication and the impact this project continues to make – in design, delivery, execution and functionality – benefiting air passengers and employees alike,” said Indhira Figuereo, WSP senior vice president and national aviation market leader. “It was indeed an honor to be among the finalists for the Grand Conceptor.”
The nine-year, $8 billion project involved major, long-needed airport improvements to address increasing aircraft volume, larger passenger planes and growing passenger counts. In the last full year before work began, LaGuardia’s outdated Central Terminal handled almost 14 million passengers – nearly double what it was designed for and almost half of the airport’s total volume.
Design began in 2015 with construction starting in 2016 and completing in 2022 – all while enabling the airport operator to maintain normal operations at the then-19th busiest U.S. airport.
The success of this project was further solidified recently when LaGuardia was honored by the Airports Council International with the 2023 Airport Service Quality Award for Best Airport of 25 to 40 Million Passengers in North America.
“Taking LaGuardia Airport from worst to best is now more than just an aspiration, it’s an accomplishment that passengers have now resoundingly recognized,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “When we started out on our $8 billion transformation of LaGuardia, few believed we could create the world-class airport our region deserves. But the ASQ award proves that seeing is believing.”
