Previously unseen images of expansion plans for Chicago’s O’Hare International airport were revealed as the development project got underway at an 18 August 2025 ceremony attended by shovel-bearing airline executives from both American and United. To further mark the occasion, architecture studio SOM released renderings that showcase the sinuous forms of a brand new Terminal D, bathed in light thanks to an eye-like roof window, or ‘oculus’.
Orchard heritage revisited
Named Orchard Field airport until 1949 when it was re-baptised in honour of heroic World War II aviator, Lieutenant Commander Edward H. “Butch” O’Hare, the windy city’s former military airport is now undergoing its first major expansion since the 1990s, with a passenger-focused concept that also leans into the hub’s heritage, explained by SOM design partner Scott Duncan. “From skylit spaces to orchard-inspired columns, every element contributes to a bright, easy-to-navigate environment designed to elevate the travel experience and leave a lasting impression of O’Hare,” he said.
In addition to live planting and shrubbery, the design’s use of a regional vernacular continues, according to the architects, who point out that the building’s organic, flowing forms are also a tribute to the “oxbow bends of Midwestern rivers.”
19 new gates and eco-friendly future-proofing
United States Senator Tammy Duckworth has hailed the project as an “historic expansion” that “will ensure the airport continues to deliver for Illinoisans.”
Offering 19 new gates, mezzanine levels and retail spaces, as well as seating beside a vast glass curtain wall giving exterior views, Terminal D will serve as a ‘node’, in some way reflecting O’Hare’s status among the world’s busiest and best-connected airports. (According to NBC Chicago, it has just enjoyed “the busiest June in airport history.”) Sitting just south of Terminal 1, it will link to Concourse E via an underground tunnel, and to the main airport via another new space – O’Hare Global Terminal.
Partnered by the City of Chicago and engineering and risk-management firm AECOM, the $1.3-billion (€1.1-billion) new terminal build will generate around 4,000 construction jobs, authorities say, and is set for completion by late 2028 but, with heating and cooling costs slashed by 50% and a carbon footprint reduced thanks to innovative roof supports, its impact is expected to endure far into the future. “Airport planning is not just about the next year – it’s about the next generation,” said Michael McMurray, the city’s Department of Aviation commissioner.
