Arktura created a series of acoustic dunes in a custom form factor for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Located in the newly completed eighth concourse of Terminal 4, the busiest terminal in the airport, this project took over three years to complete. The new concourse adds eight new gates serving Southwest Airlines passengers. “America’s Friendliest Airport” is also the eighth busiest airport in the US and the 11th busiest in the world, which challenged Arktura to create a dynamic design to fit the project’s needs functionally and aesthetically.
This new concourse covers approximately 130,000 square feet in the newly renovated space, with an overhead acoustic system that greets travelers arriving and departing Phoenix. Corgan Arizona came to Arktura with a formidable design proposition. Instead of selecting a standard module from our catalog, they challenged Arktura to bring their plan to life. Corgan already had the design concept in mind, displaying Arizona’s famous desert landscape as undulating acoustic baffles meant to represent the sandy landscape of the nearby Imperial Sand Dunes.
Originally tagged as a Public Art Space, Corgan approached Arktura for a solution based on Arktura’s Atmosphera® system of undulating acoustic baffles. This installer could not connect to the deck with a threaded rod, so the Arktura Solutions Studio® team collaborated to find the best option and simplified the complex to meet the project’s needs.
The appearance of these large baffles, made of Arktura’s Soft Sound® acoustic material, was created using fin depths up to 24 inches and dynamic changes in shape, giving the system the illusion of being up to 8-9 feet deep. The natural finish mimics the surrounding desert. Because of the scale and engineering involved, this project required Arktura’s Solutions Studio® to custom manufacture the system into an easy-to-install kit of parts. The dune-like quality of these custom fins is even more apparent when looking through the floor-to-ceiling dynamic UV-adjusting glazing overlooking the runways and surrounding desert.
The terminal, including Arktura’s custom acoustic modules, was part of a larger-scale project to help increase traveler wellness at one of the nation’s busiest airports. The result is a beautifully captivating architectural feature that promotes acoustics & wellness to the millions of passengers traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor annually. The developers are currently seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the overall construction.
Since completion this project has been awarded a CISCA Manufacturer’s Award in the Civic – Above 50,000 square feet – West category in March of 2023. CISCA (Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association) present these honors to the manufacturers, contractors, distributors, and independent reps that produced excellent projects for the built environment in their given year.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Systems Used: Solutions Studio®
Project Scope/Scale (SqFt): 130,000 SqFt
Installer: T-P Acoustics PHX
Architect: Corgan
Rep: Loop Architectural Materials
To learn more about bringing these dynamic tailored acoustic solutions to your next project, contact your local rep today!
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