LAX Terminal 5 – Planning & Rebuild Strategy

Project Overview

Terminal 5 at LAX is a proposed near-complete rebuild, planned under an accelerated timeline to support LA28. The effort focused on defining a viable Basis of Design and bridging documents for future design-build delivery.

Project Facts

Client: LAWA | Scope: Programming, planning, BOD + bridging | Role: Architecture Project Manager

The Challenge

  • Planning a near-total terminal replacement within a constrained footprint

  • Delivering a complete Basis of Design in ~4 months

  • Aligning with rapidly evolving executive expectations

  • Managing intensive stakeholder engagement (20+ meetings/week)

  • Making hard program and Level of Service trade-offs under time pressure

Role & Key Contributions

  • Led architectural and multidisciplinary team to produce fully coordinated Basis of Design and bridging documents

  • Facilitated high-frequency stakeholder engagement to accelerate decision-making

  • Defined program priorities and scope trade-offs within fixed footprint constraints

  • Translated evolving executive direction into clear, actionable planning criteria

  • Established a deliverable framework suitable for rapid design-build procurement

Outcome

Delivered a compressed yet comprehensive project definition that enabled LAWA to move forward with a viable terminal replacement strategy under extreme time and planning constraints. As of March 2026, the project is currently underway with the full demolition and rebuild of a new T5.