As Southwest Airlines’ (Southwest) presence at Baltimore / Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) continues to grow, the airline’s Tech Ops team identified the need for a new state-of-the-art maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility to service their ever-expanding operations.
From the onset of the project, our team overcome the challenges of the physical environment, a greenfield parcel. For the complex to appropriately sit on the site, the elevation had to be reduced by 30 feet. Additionally, the placement of the hangar also jeopardized the current Airport Surveillance Radar (ARS). Working with the FAA and the airport authority, we shaped our design to mitigate the radar while still maintaining Southwest’s maintenance requirements. Specific solutions include the use of specialty cladding materials and strategically angled facades.
Despite the physical limitations, our team successfully developed a 130,000 SF open-bay hangar and support center. As the latest in Southwest’s RON (Remain Over Night) program, the BWI MRO facility will further strengthen their next-generation operations.
