Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Concourse A Extension

Burns led mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm and fire protection design services for a five-gate extension of Concourse A, enabling modernization and expansion of traveler amenities.

Burns led mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm and fire protection design services for a five-gate extension of Concourse A, enabling modernization and expansion of traveler amenities.

Concourse A services Southwest Airlines, the busiest airline at BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport. As part of a larger program to overhaul the terminal’s baggage system, Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) implemented an approximately $60-million, 55,000-square-foot gate extension involving upgrades to dining and retail areas as well as customer service improvements to previously overcrowded restrooms.

Burns’ design services include piloting “smart restroom” amenities that offer greater privacy, enhanced cleanliness and minimized wait times. Features include:

• Color-coded lights, wirelessly connected to door locks, to indicate stall availability;
• Floor-to-ceiling stall enclosures for added privacy;
• Smaller stall widths to accommodate additional toilets or urinals;
• Asset-tracking system to monitor facility maintenance routines;
• Customer survey tablets to collect feedback on bathroom conditions; and
• Reconfigured ductwork to eliminate odors and properly exhaust conditioned air.

Part of a WSP-led design team, the On-Call Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineering Services task order also involved various power systems analyses and design of the gate’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Construction completed in 2020.

Previous projects at BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport include cybersecurity master plan and communication system improvements and an airfield rehabilitation program.