The dream of coming to New York City—thought of as the greatest of all great cities and the epicenter of the world ---mostly passes through two massive airports, JFK International and LaGuardia. For many years LaGuardia was the poor stepchild to JFK, and looked it.  In many ways an eyesore, the Port Authority of NY/NJ knew that the time had come for a complete redesign, which began in 2016.  The project consisted of a teardown of several ancillary structures, the rebuilding of two terminals, each costing around $4 billion and an overhaul of around five miles of roadway.  Terminal B was completed in 2022 and houses American, JetBlue, Southwest, United and Air Canada.  Skytrax a London-based transport rating firm ranked it as the world’s best new airport terminal receiving a five-star designation.

Its sister terminal, Terminal C is mostly completed with the majority of 38 gates open. Financed and occupied exclusively by Delta, it is as world class in design, technology and logistics as Terminal B.

Governor Kathy Hochel stated “The transformation of a Whole New LaGuardia airport into a world-class destination that is internationally recognized for its beauty is an integral part of our bold vision for a new era in New York.  The opening of Delta’s $4 billion Terminal C will help provide a superlative passenger experience, easing connections and creating lasting impressions – and it joins the completed Terminal B which we celebrated just a few months ago. Congratulations to all who made today's milestone possible as we finish creating a LaGuardia airport worthy of New York."

The glowing new terminal features high ceilings, wood and marble accents, a variety of art installations by local New York artists, and walls of windows to create a light and airy atmosphere for travelers. In fact, Terminal C is worthy of “museum status” due to its partnership with the Queens Museum. “In a word, the new Terminal C is magnificent—an architectural gem that dwarfs the facilities it replaces in size, style, and functionality,” Rick Cotton, the Port Authority’s executive director, said in a statement.

Part of what contributes to the beauty of this standard-bearer of excellence in air travel are the gorgeous wood panel and illuminated ceilings that echo throughout a good amount of the terminal.  Envisioned by architect Gensler and Lighting Designer Domingo Gonzalez, Apogee leveraged our flagship large format illuminated ceiling solution Lightscape Field Stretch as the lit part of the alternating light panel and natural wood slat design throughout much of Terminal C’s ceiling area.  Apogee engineers created a range of large rectangle panels in various sizes ranging up to 53’ long to meet the design needs.  These panels covered over 1600 square feet and provided a Dynamic White light source to adjust the color temperature for the well-being of travelers coming in from various time zones.

As with the entire project, speed of both manufacturing and installation was of the essence to stay within the cascading construction schedules in order to be a part of what was a mammoth effort to open the Terminal ahead of schedule, even with the slowdown of the Covid pandemic.  The key as always was the unique partnership between Apogee, Gensler and Domingo Gonzalez to pool individual intellectual capital to get the job done.

This terminal will be a flagship outpost for Delta, is now the largest carrier at LaGuardia by number of flights operated, with 255 flights departing the hub every day. Delta also plans to build two more concourses by 2024 and merge Terminals C and D into one expansive facility that will measure 1.3 million square feet with a total of 37 gates across four concourses. The new Terminal C comes as the airport officially finished construction on the equally impressive Terminal B building earlier this year.