The 1936 Vintage administration building which serves as the central hub of the airport has become inadequate- in terms of space (only 7000 square feet of total area on 3 levels), amenity (low quality finishes and undersized facilities), and accessibility (no elevator, inaccessible rest rooms, etc.).
In order to serve the contemporary needs of the Airport and to facilitate future growth requires 24,000 square feet of additional space for administrative, concession, Corporate FBO space, educational, and commercial uses. While initial design studies considered alternate locations for a new administration building, these schemes were rejected for 3 reasons:
- Inferior location, due to all available sites lacked direct access to the airfield;
- Lack of continuity for operations and confusion for customers which would inevitably result from a split location;
- Diminution of the existing administration building's historic and functional importance by creation of a "competitor".
Recognizing the functional need to unify existing and required new space as well as to create accessibility and improve the quality of the existing building, the decision was made to expand the exiting facility with a new addition. This concept is not without precedent, as the existing building has been modified and/or expanded on at least four previous occasions since its initial construction.
The proposed design provides a 21st century update for Stinson Airport, accommodates contemporary and future needs, and at the same time "celebrates" and enhances the existing historic structure.
The original building's design is strongly oriented toward the "air side", the front of the building for arriving aircraft and airport clientele. The new 2-story building wing is, therefore, oriented to the "land side", maintaining the visual presence of the original air side -two glass skinned light wells, located on either side of the symmetrically designed new addition, separate the new construction from the original land side facade and allow virtually the entire existing building to remain intact and exposed to view as one moves into and through the building. This plan configuration provides the lightest possible "touch" of the new to the old and permits the original building to be legible in the expanded design. Accessibility issues are addressed in the new wing, permitting the existing building to maintain its historic integrity.
The new addition is clad in the principle materials which exist on the historic structures of Stinson Airport- a combination of stone (to match the color of the existing stone but in a regularly coursed pattern so as to differentiate the new from the old) and crenellated metal panels. The Art-deco flavor of the contemporary new addition is intended to complement, but not to literally copy the detailing of the existing building. (Source - Beaty & Partners Architects - Terminal Building Program) |
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City of San Antonio 
San Antonio CVB