RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 8 sourcesPresident Donald Trump demanded firms competing for contract brought 3D miniatures of their designs for his perusal, allowing him to ‘better picture’ their vision and make his own suggestions, according to a report
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President Donald Trump is set to unveil his plans to revamp Washington Dulles International Airport, after months of having architects’ models brought to and fro for his inspection, according to a report.
The project is part of the president’s efforts to “beautify” the nation’s capital, which has already seen him make extensive changes to the White House and its grounds – not least knocking down the East Wing – and attempt to clean up its nearby parks and monuments, not always successfully .
Trump first complained in December about the federally-owned airport, which was opened in 1962, saying of Dulles: “It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport at all.
“It’s a terrible airport. We’re going to make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it.”
He subsequently invited submissions from the country’s top architectural and engineering firms to redesign it, expecting them to present three-dimensional models “so that he could better picture the designs,” according to CBS News . The resulting models, described as “hefty,” reportedly then had to be ferried to and from the White House for the president’s perusal, enabling him to propose his own tweaks to the terminals, transport links, parking lots and “general airport aesthetic,” the network reports.
Trump is said to have conducted multiple meetings with executives from design practices and finance firms about the project and “hounded his advisers by phone with suggestions,” ultimately entertaining around 30 pitches from companies including HNTB, STV Group, Jacobs, Ferrovial and AECOM.
Now, the president, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials Jack Potter and Trent Morse are expected in the Oval Office at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon to show off the final design.
The $22.5 billion undertaking will reportedly build on Dulles’s existing infrastructure without impacting its runways and not make any change to the sloped roof of its modernist main terminal, designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, as Trump approves of it.
The building’s open foyer and ticket kiosks will be refurbished, however, according to insiders, and the airport’s widely-loathed mobile lounges or “people movers” will be scrapped, despite their having played a role in the running of the place since its opening.
There will instead be a new “underground U-shaped aerotrain” to deliver passengers to four new concourses, as well as additional moving walkways installed.
The present parking lot will be brought closer to the main terminal to make it easier for visitors.
Perhaps less surprisingly, the new Trump-approved design “also calls for large glass windows and gold accents throughout the airport, such as high, gold-mirrored ceilings,” according to The Washington Post .
Among the designs rejected by the president were one by Ferrovial that proposed replacing the main terminal and one from Jacobs that featured a high passenger bridge between terminals.
Dulles, named after former secretary of state John Foster Dulles, is situated around 25 miles from downtown Washington and is run by the a municipal organization, which will reportedly finance Trump’s proposed renovations by issuing tax-free bonds. United Airlines, which accounts for around 70 percent of flights from the facility, will contract for the new build and then pay back the financing of the bonds over time through airport operations.
Trump’s affection for model planes was revealed last week when a video posted on social media by an aide showed that he had placed them throughout the Oval Office and across the Resolute Desk.
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