Houston's $470M Hobby Airport Concourse Extension Reaches for the Stars
For contractor Hensel Phelps, lead designer Corgan and Southwest Airlines program manager William Manning, the $470-million expansion of the west concourse at Houston’s William P. Hobby International Airport means coming full circle
With Hobby’s proximity to the Johnson Space Center, “we used computational design to place a starry sky” motif on the new canopy, he adds. “In terms of sense of place, it’s about Houston.”
The team had built the original five-gate international terminal and Federal Inspection Station facilities for the Houston Airport System, completing them in 2015. Now, the reunited team is adding seven new gates, a modern baggage handling system with two additional carousels, and a weather-protective canopy connecting the parking garage to the terminal.
Hensel Phelps began work on the construction manager-at-risk project in 2024, topping out the concourse structure last fall. Completion is slated for 2027.
“We’re building onto a lot of what we implemented then,” says Jonathan Massey, managing principal with Corgan. Noting that the original concourse achieved a Skytrax 5-star rating, he adds: “This project carries forward the same principles of flow and architecture that provide intuitive wayfinding. We use light and volume and edges to direct people, rather than just signage.”
The design includes “a large space at the end of the concourse that has an angle, an acute triangle,” notes Massey. “It will act like a big arrow directing people.” Travelers who don’t need to pick up their bags can keep going straight out of the concourse; those who do will turn left, he says.
