Profile

FAA Air Traffic Control Tower,
JFK International Airport

New York, New York
Completed 1992

Lead Designer: Henry N. Cobb

Air traffic control tower          
 

This 320-foot high air traffic control tower, the tallest in the world, is the only major executed component of a comprehensive proposal to redevelop JFK International Airport. It replaces an existing 150-foot-high tower that had severe functional deficiencies.

Following a rigorous investigation of sight lines, shadows, and long-term expansion potential at the high-capacity airport, the tower was centrally located adjacent to the International Arrivals Building and connected to it by bridge. At its base is a two-story office / equipment facility. Cantilevered above are a ramp control center (essentially one floor of an office building served by its own elevator); a glazed upper-level equipment and support facility housed in a three-story segment of a sphere; a microwave balcony cantilevered to the rear; and ultimately, a 30-foot-high radar-domed control cab. The architectural concrete shaft itself houses elevators, stairs and miles of signal transmission cabling.

The tower is effectively a standalone building with its own heating/cooling and operational equipment, providing dedicated facilities for both the FAA and the Port Authority. Of all its components, only the control cab required runway visibility yet the tower was designed to be boldly directional. A vigilant sentinel and symbol of air safety, it presents a watchful visage to the millions of travelers who annually arrive in or depart from New York.

Major Components

10,000 s/f base building; 3,300 s/f foot bridge; 3,700 s/f intermediate-level ramp control facility; typical shaft level: 8 @ 1,070 s/f (8,550 s/f); 8,020 s/f administration; 10,600 s/f mechanical and support; 720 s/f control cab

Awards

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners services

Master planning, Architectural Design, Construction Documents for glass and metal curtain wall; coordination with associate architect on construction documents and construction administration

Architect of Record

Leo A. Daly, Planning, Architecture, Engineering, Omaha, NE

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