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’s landscape is choreographed as a series of sensory zones, guiding travellers with the language of nature.
Traveling Through Wilderness – Sheltering groves provide intuitive navigation, where passengers move following the gentle cues of trees and pathways.
A Breath Before Security – A grove of deciduous trees calms travellers through stressful moments, offering a place to pause, exhale, and step forward with ease.
The Oregon Market – A Forest Canopy – Within the bustling heart of the terminal, hanging planters suspended at varying heights mimicking the understory of a forest, framing a communal space for gathering, dining, and waiting beneath the embrace of green.
Recomposure Under the Trees – After security, a space of light and stillness, where nature lingers to soothe and reorient before the next leg of the journey.
A Streetscape in the Sky – Along the concession promenades, an urban forest of trees and plantings continues the experience, carrying biophilic connection from arrival to departure.
Throughout, glowing planters, lush greenery, and Oregon-inspired digital artworks transform the terminal into a sanctuary of movement and stillness, energy and renewal.
The Timber Sky
The terminal’s nine-acre mass timber roof shelters travellers like a forest canopy. Designed and constructed from 3.5 million board feet of Douglas Fir, sustainably sourced from Oregon’s forests, it speaks to the region’s deep connection to woodlands and craft. Its 49 skylights bathe the landscape below in natural light, ensuring 60% of the terminal’s illumination is drawn from the sky itself. Here, daylight shifts across wooden beams and dapples leaves in an ever-changing interplay – a living, breathing terminal that evolves with the sun.
A Terminal for Generations
More than beauty, PDX Main Terminal was designed to endure. Sustainable irrigation and stormwater solutions support thousands of plants, allowing the landscape to thrive with minimal intervention. Seismically resilient design ensures that this forest-in-motion stands strong and offers shelter for future generations. Integrated LED lighting within the suspended planter system reduces energy consumption, proving that sustainability and serenity can coexist. The rebuilt Portland International Airport is a landscape visited by millions – an experience of nature that moves with the world.
An Invitation to Belong
At PDX, the journey is reimagined. The Main Terminal is a gateway between worlds, a pause of wonder before the next adventure. It is the scent of trees, the hush of leaves, the quiet embrace of nature in motion. A landscape that holds your departure, welcomes your return, and lingers in memory. In this forest of light and timber, every traveller becomes part of the story.
• Project typology:
Public Transportation
• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:
PLACE
• All architecture offices involved in the design:
ZGF Architects
• Other credits you need or wish to write:
Port of Portland
ZGF Architects
Wood Architecture
CISTUS
Hoffman
Skanska
KPFF
PAE
ARUP
