ST. LOUIS, MO – The renovation of the historic Terminal 1 vault at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport has received a 2013 AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award Honor Award – Divine Detail. Kwame Building Group (KWAME) is the Project Manager for the $70 million Airport Experience Program, the largest renovation in the history of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The KWAME project management team recommended several key solutions to implement the new lighting scheme, which was designed by Randy Burkett Lighting Design.The renovation of the dramatic concrete vaults and skylights in Terminal 1 was part of Phase I of the Airport Experience Program, now complete. When the renovation began, the triangulated skylights separating the four vaults in the terminal were concealed by acrylic ceilings laid flush with the vault surface. The renovation design called for replacing fluorescent lighting inside the skylights with LED to reduce energy and maintenance costs while also providing quality white light and color programmability.

The KWAME project management team recommended opening up the vaults to dramatize the skylights, a feature that was evident in the original mid-century design (1956) by Minoru Yamasaki. KWAME also suggested a special film that would allow the LED light to appear on both sides of the glass, accentuating the natural arches of the vault both inside and outside the terminal. When viewed from a distance, the LED lighting washes the terminal with dramatic color.

“We’re very proud of the results,” said Mike Minges, vice president of KWAME. “The Lambert Terminal 1 renovation is a great example of how a project management team can bring construction solutions to the table to achieve design goals.”

The Lambert Airport Terminal 1 vault and skylight renovation also received the 2012 AIA Illinois Design Award: Louis Sullivan Award, the top honor for all categories; and the 2011 AIA St. Louis Design Award: Honor Award – Interiors.

KWAME is an employee-owned pure program and construction management firm providing estimating, scheduling, project planning, value engineering and other project management services as an independent advocate for owners and developers.

KWAME was named a 2013 “Construction Management-for-Fee Firm” by Engineering News Record, the construction industry’s leading news and analysis publication; and was selected as one of RCGA’s “Top 50 Companies in the St. Louis Region.”

KWAME’s public and private sector projects include educational facilities, major airports nationwide, light-rail systems, hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and government facilities. KWAME is headquartered in St. Louis with division offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Seattle. For more information, visit www.kwamebuildinggroup.com or call 314.862.5344.

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Source: Kwame Building Group – News