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Pearson Airport: Construction

Toronto
Ontario

Interior view of the airport with the steel "shell" nearing completion.

Interior view of the airport with the steel "shell" nearing completion. Steel members ready for lifting. Interior view of the airport structure. Airside of the terminal. This steel will be reinforced with concrete. A view of the "wishbones" that connect the curved roof beams to the rear wall of the building. Concrete work continues along the airside wall of the terminal. Interior view of the structural steel that is on the rear of the terminal building. Only AESS is painted white. Interior view of the terminal. The "rust" coloured steel down the centre is there to provide temporary support for the erection of the two part steel arches. Closer view of the central line of steel shoring. A view of an expansion joint between two lines of "wishbones". Connection at front edge of curved steel roof beam. Central splice in the curved steel roof beam, steel shoring support can also be seen.

Project Description Project Team

Project Description

Background: The images contained on this site were taken during a site visits, arranged by the courtesy of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (October 2000).

The Project Status: At the point of this visit the last curved roof arch of the terminal building had just been erected. The stability of the overall frame, as well as the erection sequence, was dependent on the large (rust colored) steel frame that ran the full length of the curved terminal building. This structure supported the curved roof arches, near to their central hinge. Once this structure would be removed, the resulting space would be divided horizontally into the 3 floors of the terminal building (top departures, middle arrivals, bottom service). Where the front side of the terminal building would be largely glazed, the rear portion of the building was to have its steel structure encased in reinforced concrete for additional stability.

photos: Terri Meyer Boake

The Construction of the New Terminal at Pearson International Airport, Toronto

The new terminal at Pearson International Airport in Toronto will eventually both consolidate and expand the facilities provided by the former Terminals 1 and 2.


The terminal uses Architecturally Exposed Structural steel as its primary expression of the large, curved, vaulted space that encloses the departures level of the building.

Special AESS "wishbones" line the rear wall of the terminal, bringing daylighting in, to complement the daylight received through the skylights that line the length of the vault. The "wishbones" were fabricated by Walters Inc. of Hamilton, Ontario.

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