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COVER STORY December 2015/January 2016 airportbusiness 15 ing at Olympic torches and narrowed it down to three options, which were vetted by SFO and the city's art commission. The result was the tapered silhouette that you see now," says Kim. Kim says designers also spent a lot of time perfecting the facility's skin. They worked with a facade consultant and performed solar reflectiv- ity studies to accentuate the tower's curve linear form. The resulting design rotates the individual panel joints to make them sort of spiral up the tower. These curved metal panels reflect the sky during the day while LED lighting within the glass glows softly at night. Airport officials also sought to create a vis- ible form that greeted the public upon arrival. This goal led designers to create an LED backlit glass waterfall that stretches 147 feet into the air on the tower's west side. The LED lighting system mimics the system used on the front of the international terminal, which is computer controlled and used to celebrate local events. "The tower's LED panels can light up and we can change the colors based on whatever mood we are in," says Costanzo. "We've celebrated the Warrior's victory with blue and gold. We cele- brated Gay Pride week with rainbow colors. It's a really neat part of the tower and people love it." DESIGN-BUILD With major construction complete, the airport now turns equipping the interior over to the FAA. The FAA is installing radar, servers, receiv- ers, transmitters and other electronic equipment to ready the tower for operation by mid-2016. This marks a new role in air traffic control construction for the FAA. Typically the FAA handles tower design and construction from A to Z but in this case the FAA turned over these roles to the airport. "This is the first time the FAA has allowed an airport to build a tower for them," says Yakel, who states the situation came about because it was being built near existing terminals and had to be an aesthetically pleas- ing structure that fit well with its surroundings. The FAA's new role in this project has other airports looking to do the same, adds Costanzo. He notes an airport in South Florida is contract- ing with the FAA to construct its own tower to FAA specifications. "It's a lot faster to get things done and a lot cheaper in the long run," he says. He explains typically the FAA prepares its own design then hires a builder. By doing the project on their own, airports can utilize a design-build construction method to speed the process. Design-build is a project delivery sys- tem used in construction in which the designer and the builder are part of the same team. "Design-build is a lot more efficient than waiting until you're in construction and issu- ing change orders. The designer and the build- er work together upfront to understand the build-ability of the design," he says. "HNTB was contracted to develop the design and bring the contract documents up to 45 per- cent, at which point they were handed off to the design-build team," says Kim. HNTB, did the concept design for the air- port's new tower situated between Terminal 1 and 2. They also did design work on a new three-story Integrated Facility building for the FAA and other personnel, two connector walk- ways, and improvements to the Terminal 1 Boarding Area C Entrance, all of which were also part of the project. Fentress Architects handled detailed design work once construction began with its design partner Hensel Phelps. Costanzo says with the design-build process "you don't need a complete structure design before you start construction so you can phase the construction process," he says. "You can fin- ish the structural part, which is the foundation of your building, while you're still designing the mechanical and electrical for the facility." Overall the new airport air traffic control tower is one that has everyone talking, and has left those involved very pleased with the results. "We think it's a dramatic new iconic element on the skyline at the airport," says Fentress. "It's been a lot of hours and a lot of hard work but it's been a really great project for San Francisco." Air traffic controllers will have sweeping 360-degree views of the airfield.