With demand for air travel surging and O’Hare Airport terminals operating at capacity, the traveling public is getting its first glimpse inside a new 19-gate satellite concourse to meet the demand.
Aviation Commissioner Michael McMurray unveiled the one-minute, 43 second video animation on Thursday during a state-of-the-airports speech to the City Club of Chicago. It vividly showcases the design by an architectural team led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill that was first revealed nearly two years ago.
It pays tribute to the reason O’Hare’s airport code is ORD, which links back to when the airport was named Orchard Field.
“Passengers arrive in a skylit, multi-level space shaped by gentle curves and landscaped forms. This central gathering space introduces moments of rest, dining, retail and play,” a narrator states in the video.
“A series of branching, tree-like columns pays homage to the orchards that once defined this land. These sculptural elements open sight lines and support a curved roof designed to bring daylight deep into the building and create a calm, naturally-lit environment for passengers boarding flights… At the south end of the concourse, the experience opens outward to views of the Chicago skyline.”
The $1.3 billion concourse project broke ground last year and is expected to be completed in late 2028. McMurray told the City Club that the 19 new gates — each capable of serving “either two narrow-body or one-wide-body aircraft” — will boost capacity and maximize gate utilization.
The rows of tree-like columns supporting a soaring, skylit roof, create the feeling of moving through a tree orchard like those that once filled the land now occupied by O’Hare. A floating walkway for international travelers will be suspended from those same, tree-like columns.
“Concourse D introduces a new experience rooted in the city’s architectural legacy,” McMurray told the City Club. “A multi-level space will provide zones for resting, dining, shopping and play with skylights for an open, naturally-lit environment. And at the south end of the concourse, the space opens up to lounge seating and landscaping that frame expansive views of the airfield.”
To cut costs and appease the two major airlines footing much of the bill, Mayor Brandon Johnson changed the order of construction on the $8.2 billion O’Hare terminal expansion project.
The new agreement allows the city to build the satellite concourse while planning a phased construction of the global terminal that would replace what is now Terminal 2. A second satellite concourse, with a connecting tunnel, will be completed only if enough funding remains after other work is finished.
The city will provide regular cost estimates and will need approval from United and American before either cutting the scope of the project or spending more than the inflation-adjusted $8.2 billion figure. Last summer, McMurray told the Sun-Times he’s confident that the city will “not run out of money” and that “we can deliver it all if we do it right.”
But he also acknowledged that talks are underway to determine the final design of the global terminal designed by renowned Chicago architect Jeanne Gang. One option could be to economize on the Gang design that some in the industry have derided as an expensive “Taj Mahal.”
“We’re in constant negotiation and planning sessions with them… We are collaborating with our airline partners and our federal partners. Everybody is working together,” McMurray said last summer.