New Metro Canopy at Washington National Airport, Arlington VA

When Cesar Pelli’’s new wing at National Airport opened in 1999, METRO riders walking from the trains towards the new terminal building were caught unprotected from the weather. The existing cast-in-place concrete “Gull Wing” canopy at the southern end of the platform covered only half of the walking surface. Schick Goldstein Architects was asked to design a new canopy over the unprotected area, upgrade the existing METRO signage to include the new terminal information and airport name change, and provide seating in protected glass enclosures intermittently along the entire length of the platforms.

The solution was a 340 foot long all metal curved roof canopy, over each of the two platforms, supported by a series of steel columns covered with round heavy guage stainless steel. The existing metro platform structure required the addition of pre-stressed cables below the beams to support the new canopies. The result is a modern structure with architectural elements which reflect the older existing canopies and materials consistent with the new terminal building.

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