Security needs play role in look of terminal

HPR Media Services

The open look and feel of the North Terminal design is not only for the comfort and pleasure of passenger, but also serves to aid security efforts.

One look at plans for the new North Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport discloses a wide-open airy feel to the design.

But this open look, although designed to appeal to the traveling public, also has some practical value when it comes to airport security needs.

Due to the call for upgraded security at the nation’s airports following the terror attacks of 9/11, all terminals have undergone changes to make the job of spotting and stopping potential threats easier.

During the presentation of the drawings of the new terminal design to the Wayne County Airport Authority, Bill Hartman, principal and managing director of the Gensler Detroit Design Team, which is spearheading the project, stressed the importance of the new design in terms of both its “feel” to passengers and its ability to accommodate security concerns.

“With the use of glass and a wide open concourse, security concerns have also been addressed in the design,” Hartman told the Authority.

Much of this accommodation involves offering site lines that allow security personnel to easily see a large portion of the terminal. This is demonstrated best at the security checkpoints for passenger screening.

Through use of a glass wall, the area is secure yet can be seen from a variety of angles.

This concern for security also extends outside the terminal, where roadways will not directly abut the building, offering a buffer between the terminal and any threat outside.

Even before the terminal begins to take shape, steps will be taken that probably would not have been necessary pre-9/11.

One of the first contracts approved for the new North Terminal was for the installation of security fencing to separate the construction site from the secured airfield.

“So far we have two contracts that have been recently accepted,” said Michael Conway, director of public affairs and environment at Metro. “They are the contracts for the site security fencing and asbestos abatement at the Davey and Marriott buildings.”

With security measures more stringent than ever, Conway said the decision to enclose the construction site with fencing would make the job of getting work started much easier and less expensive.

If the work were being done in an area where workers could get to the airfield, everyone would face security screening and identification checks each day.

“With the security fence the work area will be separated and this will not be a concern,” Conway said.

It is this incorporation of safety and security concerns at the start of the project that allows for a much more efficient use of space. This was not the case in the development of the Edward McNamara Terminal.

Because much of the design and construction was completed before 9/11, security plans were revamped and some areas retrofitted to meet new federal security standards.

Initially the intention was to allow free access to the stores and restaurants in the main concourse. That plan was scrapped after 9/11 and only ticketed passengers were allowed access to the concourse areas where most of the businesses were to be located.

Passenger screening areas were moved further out of the concourse than originally planned to control access to the terminal.

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