Miami International Airport is the 3rd busiest airport in the US for International Passengers and the 13th busiest in the country.  The South Terminal Expansion Project adds 1.2 Million square feet to the existing airport Terminal, connecting to the new Concourse J and existing Concourse H and serves over 15 airlines. It increased the airport curbside by over 1000 ft, in a five-story building which can process up to 2,500 International passengers per hour. 

 

Organizationally, the STE is arranged in five levels, matching functional adjacencies existing in the old terminal.  The ground level serves domestic arrivals baggage claim, cruise ship bus terminal and the baggage handling system.  The second level (main) serves departure functions including a ticket hall with128 check-in counters, airline offices, two security checkpoints,

retail and food concessions.  The third level is reserved for Federal Inspection Services and international arrivals with its separate baggage claim area, while the fourth and fifth floors contain TSA offices and mechanical systems.

 

The International Baggage claim hall is located on the 3rd floor of the facility. In order to achieve light-filled, open, high spaces within the Departure Hall the design team created a thirty foot wide shaft which extends the length of the Terminal and creates a visual connection between the levels.  International arriving passengers are filtered from Concourse H and J into the INS Arrival Hall, a dramatic volume of space and light, anchored at the east end of the Terminal, and designed to rival any of the great halls of yesteryear, with a stunning panoramic view of the Miami skyline beyond.

 

Flights arriving from all over the world and over 200,000 commuters daily along Highway 836 to the south are visually greeted with the iconic “Miami” wall along the airside, a strategy that simultaneously serves as a sun-shading device for the terminal glass walls behind.

  

Collaborating Architect: Mateu Carreno Rizo & Partners