General Mitchell International Airport Parking Structure, Milwaukee

The General Mitchell International Airport Parking Structure has 3,000 parking spaces.
The $81 million project also included infrastructure improvements to serve airport needs in the future.

The 1.1 million-sq.-ft. addition was constructed immediately north of the existing parking structure. It is separated by a six-story, 700-ft.-long pedestrian access corridor, which allows users a direct path to the terminal.

User friendliness was an important goal for the design, and cracking was a key area of focus.

Cracking is unsightly, may also result in leaking of salts onto cars below and require repairs resulting in disruption and lost revenue. The concrete mix was designed to prevent contamination by salt-laden water and runoff because it minimizes flexural cracking. A combination of fly ash and slag was used in the mix, and the top layer has an epoxy coating for reinforcing.

Pretty Parking Structure

It was important that the exterior appearance carefully blend the new and existing structures. The canted, perforated white panels added around the structure in combination with the large, circular helixes on the west face add an attractive design element, while minimizing the impression of a large gray concrete building.

The power plant serving the airport was demolished and replaced by a new $12 million facility with 50 percent more capacity to make room for the structure. Site utilities, roadways and several other buildings were also relocated for the same reason.

Activities that included forming, placing, reinforcing, pouring, post-tensioning, stripping forms and clean up were all done simultaneously because work areas were so large.

An average of 1,200 cu. yds. of concrete were placed each day. Reinforced, cast-in-place concrete was selected because of the design flexibility it allows. Concrete helped to maximize the available space at the airport grounds because the addition is bordered by curving and angular roadways on one side and the existing garage on the other.

The jury said, "This is a nice piece of design and has good detailing. They effectively brought light and brightness into the interior spaces. The fact that the project was completed while it stayed open for business added a degree of complication that the team solved effectively."

Return to Best of 2003 list