Mass Timber Roof to be Crowning Jewel of Portland International Airport’s Expansion Project

The new main terminal at Portland Oregon’s International Airport (PDX) is starting to take shape. The construction of the massive, undulating wood roof is set to be the crowning jewel of PDX’s $2 billion expansion.

The 392,000-square-foot mass timber roof is being put together like a huge 3-D puzzle about a mile away from the new terminal. The structure will be disassembled and reassembled piece by piece next year. Each of the main modules of the roof measures 120 feet by 110 feet. The roof will rise to 54 feet at its peak. It will include large round skylights and a ceiling decorated with wood lattice.

Sharon van der Meulen, a partner of ZGF architects, said, “The roof design was inspired by the forests of the Pacific Northwest and the feeling you get while walking through the woods, the experience of light filtering through the trees, and the protection of the tree canopy.”

Glue-laminated beams for roofing project were manufactured by Eugene by Zip-O Laminators of Eugene, Oregon using 3.3 million board feet of Douglas fir. The beams were transported to Timberlab of Portland, where CNC machining centers were used to shape the edges.