Awards
TBIT West Expansion
- Building Team of the Year Award, 2013 AIA Los Angeles Design Awards, AIA Los Angeles
- Creative & Bold Engineering Design, 2013 AISC Special Achievement Awards, American Institute of Steel Construction
- Award Winner, 2013 ACI Annual Pankow Awards, American Concrete Institute
United Terminals 6, 7, 8 Renovation & Addition
- ENR Best Project Award – Aviation Category, 2019 ENR California’s Best Projects, ENR
Vertical Circulation Cores
- Outstanding Airports & Ports Project Award, 2024 ASCE Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch
Team
TBIT West Expansion
- Architect: Fentress Architects
- Contractor: Walsh Austin
United Terminals 6, 7, 8 Renovation & Addition
- Architect: HNTB
- Contractor: Hensel Phelps
Vertical Circulation Cores
- Architect: AC Martin
- Contractor: Austin Commercial
JAMA has been engaged with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) for decades, most recently assisting the authority and design teams with the transformation of this international gateway through more than ten significant projects. JAMA’s understanding of significant modernizations and construction within secure, continuous operational environments, and expertise in long-span structures have proven critical to our ongoing involvement and success at LAX.
Tom Bradley International Terminal West Expansion
One of the earliest expansion efforts in the City’s countdown to the 2028 Olympics was the renovation and expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). JAMA has been involved in several components of this multi-component project, including engineering of the nearly 1,000,000 square foot Bradley West Expansion aimed at improving the passenger experience and accommodating larger Airbus jumbo jets.
Terminal West Expansion (Construction and Completed)
The terminal’s rhythmic, sloping glass and steel roofs are meant to capture LA’s vibrant spirit and mimic the breaking waves of the nearby ocean. Since the architectural features and functions would not accommodate conventional structural solutions for lateral stability, JAMA’s engineers developed a curved moment frame concept with non-orthogonal moment connections. Such a moment frame connection had never before been used in high seismic regions such as Southern California. Through full-scale cyclic testing, the firm was able to prove the technical validity of the unique designs and obtain approval from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety to construct the systems.
LAX United Airline Terminal (Exterior and Interior)
United Airlines Terminals 6, 7 & 8 Renovation and Addition
The renovation and retrofit of United Airlines’ facilities at LAX cleverly integrated structural modifications with bold solutions to enhance operations and passenger experience. With structures originally constructed in the 1960’s and 1980’s, the project overcame unknown conditions and the need to tie together a myriad of structural systems to achieve a new architectural vision. Components such as a new Premier United Club – the largest for the airline in the US – and passenger experience upgrades like enhanced screening areas and enlarged ticketing areas, were completed with minimal disruption.
Vertical Circulation Cores
JAMA’s most recent efforts have included structural design of the vertical circulation connections between the airport’s new automated people mover (APM) and terminals at three locations – T5.5, T7, and Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). The firm’s scope includes design of the high-volume circulation features within each connection or core, and modifications and new construction elements at each of the stops, including partial concourse floors and/or new floor levels, modifications to escalators and stairs, and extensions for bridge connectors.
LAX Vertical Circulation Cores (Rendering)
The 4-story, 115,000 square foot core at T5.5 replaces a portion of the existing ticketing building to accommodate high volume circulation. This building will receive the new APM pedestrian bridge at level 3 and provides multiple escalators, elevators, and stairs for enhanced passenger circulation between the arrivals, ticketing, and departures levels.
LAX Vertical Circulation Cores
Modifications at the T7 circulation core include new floor area adjacent to the existing level 3 pedestrian bridge to accommodate a new escalator and stair to the ticketing level.
The new core building at TBIT is a 6-story structure that will receive the 40-ft by 140-ft APM pedestrian bridge at level 4. The 180,000 square foot addition includes office space and provides multiple escalators, elevators, and stairs for enhanced passenger circulation between the arrivals, ticketing, and departures levels.
