SAN DIEGO, Calif. — PCL Construction recently announced that the San Diego Airport Terminal 2 expansion has become the first commercial airport terminal in the world to receive LEED Platinum certification.
Working with joint venture partners, Turner Construction and Flatiron Construction, the project initially targeted LEED Silver certification. The San Diego Airport Authority focused heavily on involving local contractors and vendors throughout, to ensure the entire project was a community effort.
Project teams must follow strict guidelines during construction to obtain LEED certification. The team incorporated 20,000 tons of recycled aggregate into 1.5 million square feet of taxiway and airport paving, and adopted energy-conservation practices that resulted in energy savings of 30 percent over minimum requirement levels set by California’s environmental laws.
Other examples of these innovative practices include :
- Reduction in aircraft on-the-ground energy usage: power and preconditioned air units at the 10 new gates result in a reduced need for aircraft auxiliary power units and ground power units.
- Stormwater pollution prevention: the airfield storm-drain filtration system is designed to remove 80 percent of the total suspended solids that accumulate on airfield pavements, preventing them from entering San Diego Bay.
- Sustainable landscaping: native and drought-tolerant landscaping was installed to reduce water use.
The San Diego Terminal expansion began in April 2009 and opened to passengers in fall of 2013.
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