Airside Terminal Terrazzo Flooring – The Sky Beneath our Feet Construction Management/Inspection

SAI was responsible for the construction management and construction inspection of “The Sky Beneath Our Feet” project at the Airside Terminal of the Pittsburgh International Airport. The project involves removing the existing quarry tile floor system and replacing it with an epoxy terrazzo floor system that features murals of five iconic Pittsburgh skyline images.

Physical features:

  • 70,000 sq. ft. (approximately 1.5 acres) of new terrazzo flooring system.

Other features:

  • Terrazzo was chosen both due to its durability and its ability to eliminate the “clickety-clack” of thousands of luggage wheels as they traveled over the tile floor. Since terrazzo is bonded to the floor with epoxy primers, continual repairs and patching will not be needed.
  • Carnegie Mellon Art Professor Clayton Merrell’s artwork features hand-drawn, scalable sketches of the skyline murals, topographic landscape features, a vast blue sky with clouds, aircraft contrails, and 12 medallions embedded in the floor that represent the history of flight.
  • The artwork is incorporated into the floor using divider strips and 13 different colors of resinous epoxy terrazzo selected by Merrell.
  • Due to the active status of the Airside Terminal Core and a contractual requirement to maintain access to at least 50% of the 45 AIRMALL storefronts located within the work zone throughout the duration of the project, a very detailed accommodation and phasing plan had to be implemented. Consequently, the sequence of work involved over 200 phases of construction. Complicating the work was the need to maintain pedestrian access to 8 elevators, 6 escalators, 8 stairwells, and 12 restrooms positioned about the Core.
  • Because of the difficulties associated with working in this active space, all physical work on the project was conducted during nightshift hours.
Client/Owner: Allegheny County Airport Authority
Completion Date: 2015
Construction Cost: $4,000,000