PDX Airport Main Terminal – A Walk in the Oregon Forest | PLACE

Winner of the 2026 WLA Awards – Award of Excellence in the Built Hospitality & Tourism category

Beneath the vast sky of the Pacific Northwest, where forests meet the mountains and rivers carve their ancient paths, a new landmark emerges at PDX – both a gateway and a homecoming. The journey begins not with the rush of departure, but with the quiet rhythm of nature itself: a walk in the forest. Designed for longevity and adaptability, the terminal integrates responsibly sourced regional timber and low-intervention landscape systems to minimize environmental impact while enhancing long-term performance. Reimagined as a living landscape, the new terminal transcends the expectations of air travel, offering moments of wonder, belonging, and deep connection to place. In an era of hurried and impersonal movement, PDX pauses to breathe.

A canopy of 70 majestic trees stands as a sentinel of calm, their branches reaching skyward beneath a breathtaking, latticed mass-timber roof. Over 5,000 cascading plants – amidst black walnut, olive, and ficus – weave throughout the terminal, softening edges, purifying air, and blurring the boundary between indoors and Oregon’s great outdoors. Here, light dances between leaves, and the scent of earth and timber lingers – a forest within a city, a refuge within a journey.

A Terminal Rooted in Place – More than an airport, PDX is an immersive biophilic landscape designed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team. The terminal landscape is choreographed as a sequence of sensory zones that guide travelers through the language of nature.

Traveling Through Wilderness – Sheltering groves provide intuitive wayfinding through trees and pathways.

A Breath Before Security – A grove of deciduous trees offers travelers a place to pause and reset before moving forward.

The Oregon Market | A Forest Canopy – Suspended planters mimic the understory of a forest, framing communal gathering spaces beneath layers of green. Recomposure Under the Trees – After security, a space of light and stillness allows nature to soothe and reorient travelers.

A Streetscape in the Sky – Along the concession promenades, an urban forest of trees and planting extends the biophilic experience from arrival to departure. Throughout the terminal, lush greenery, integrated lighting, and Oregon-inspired digital artwork transform the airport into a shared civic landscape that offers restorative environments for millions of travelers.

The Timber Sky
The terminal’s nine-acre mass timber roof shelters travelers like a forest canopy. Constructed from 3.5 million board feet of locally sourced Douglas Fir, it reduces embodied carbon while celebrating the Pacific Northwest’s connection to woodlands. Forty-nine skylights provide daylight to nearly 60% of the terminal, creating an ever-changing interplay of light, timber, and foliage.

A Terminal for Generations
PDX Main Terminal was designed to endure. Sustainable irrigation, stormwater systems, integrated LED lighting, and resilient infrastructure support both environmental and human performance in a high-use public setting.

An Invitation to Belong
At PDX, the journey is reimagined as a pause between worlds – a place where the scent of timber, the hush of leaves, and the presence of nature welcome both departure and return.

PDX Airport Main Terminal – A Walk in the Oregon Forest

Location: Portland, Oregon, United States

Landscape Architect: PLACE
Collaborators: ZGF Architects, Wood Architecture, CISTUS, Hoffman, Skanska, KPFF, PAE, ARUP
Client: Port of Portland

Image Credits: Ema Peter, Celeste Noche, PLACE (place.la)