Gallery: LaGuardia Airport Unveils New Terminal B

The four-level Arrivals & Departures Hall for the new Terminal B is where departing passengers check-in, pass through security, experience dynamic new shops, restaurants and services and where arriving passengers pick up their checked baggage. The building connects directly via a pedestrian bridge built over top of the original terminal—to the new eastern concourse gates, which opened in December 2018.

The Arrivals and Departures Hall acts as the terminal’s front door, with pedestrian bridges that link to midfield concourses and gates.

HOK architects and structural engineers developed the island-and-bridges scheme, which includes two island concourses accessed from the main terminal through two 450-foot-long, 65-foot-high pedestrian bridges.

All departing and arriving passengers pass through level four of the Arrivals and Departures Hall, where the majority of our shops, restaurants and services are located, all post security Dining includes sit down restaurants, a food court area, grab and go and a lively bar, and seating areas for relaxing.

Through a partnership with Public Art Fund, the terminal also features spectacular commissioned art installations throughout the facility. The goal was not simply to place existing works of art in an airport, but to commission four of the world’s leading artists to create site-specific works, which would become part of the fabric of the building itself. The four artists — Jeppe Hein, Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens, and Sarah Sze — were each encouraged to draw on their personal experience of New York City.

Located in the Arrivals & Departures Hall, this monumental sculpture by artist Sarah Sze evokes the passage of time through an intricate constellation of photographs. Hundreds of images form a mirage-like sphere that appears to float in midair. Each photograph captures a snapshot of the sky above New York City taken over the course of one day. Collectively, they chart a cyclical journey from the pale yellow of dawn to the bright blues of daylight, through sunset’s dusky orange, and midnight’s violet.

Located in the Connector, artist Sabine Hornig’s La Guardia Vistas alters our perception of the urban landscape. Her transparent photo-collage fills an expansive glass façade, allowing sunlight to immerse visitors in a kaleidoscopic wash of color, image, and text as they move through the Connector. The highly detailed composition merges over 1,100 photographs of New York City into a pair of interlocking cityscapes. Buildings pictured in twilight shades of blue reach up to the tops of inverted skyscrapers that reflect the golden morning sun.

The new baggage handling system includes 55 mobile inspection tables, one of the largest deployments at a US airport. The baggage handling system, which was designed with permanent magnetic motors, only moves when bags are in the system and goes into ‘sleep mode’ when not in use.

In addition to designing and building Terminal B, LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP) will manage and maintain the facility for 35 years under a lease agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. LGP includes Vantage Airport Group, Skanska, Meridiam, and JLC Infrastructure for development and equity investment. Vantage Airport Group is leading the redevelopment program and management of Terminal B, with Skanksa-Walsh as the design-build joint venture and HOK and WSP USA providing architecture and engineering.