The O’Hare Modernization Program has been underway for a few years, but 2008 was a year of major change and development for one of the country’s largest airports.

In November 2008, the newest runway was added, and it has already saved the airport on fuel and other costs.  The new runway has also reduced waiting times for planes from an average of 24 minutes to 16 minutes, said O’Hare Modernization Program Deputy Director  Michael Boland.

Boland gave a presentation at the Chicago Architecture Foundation on Feb. 10 about the sustainable design of O’Hare and presented the newest information and updates from the project.

“We’ve incorporated a lot of design elements to make [O’Hare] environmentally friendly,” Boland said.

The U.S. Green Building Council has worked alongside O’Hare on this project, and community coordinator Marie Coleman said there are currently six projects underway for O’Hare.  The major airport is seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification in several different parts of the airport, Coleman said.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is a certificate given to residential and commercial buildings that are sustainable and meet certain criteria of environmental design.  Airports are very large and consist of more than one building so they are not typically LEED certified, Coleman said.

“There are so many aspects to an airport, and there are so many buildings and structures in an airport,” Coleman said. “[Airports] would have to decide which areas and structures they want to have LEED certification for. In the case of O’Hare, they are definitely thinking of greening different aspects of the buildings.”

O’Hare is also keeping the environment in mind for the areas outside of the building. The O’Hare Modernization Program, along with the help of designers and contractors, came up with a sustainable design manual. Rand Ekman is a director of sustainable design, and he was part of the creation of the original manual.

Ekman said there was not a “standard that worked well for airport uses at that time,” and now this manual is a standard.

However, in 2008, the standard was being changed again. Boland called the airline industry a “business that is changing all the time” and said it needed to be updated again.  The O’Hare modernization program is currently making their manual cater more toward 2009 and the new technology that has come out since the manual was first drafted in 2003.

The updated manual will add more information about the sustainability needs for the new runway and the western terminal, Boland said.

During the presentation, Boland highlighted a few of the most important aspects of the O’Hare Modernization Program.  The program is using clean construction vehicles, green roofs and a major recycling project is underway.  O’Hare recycles 90 percent of materials from demolition and construction, which provides easier transportation of materials because they are moving from one part of the airport to another, Boland said.

A major concern for all airports is birds and wildlife, especially since U.S. Airways flight No.1549 landed in the Hudson River last month. Boland said that O’Hare is taking extreme measures to provide a safe environment for the planes and the surrounding area wildlife.

Plans in the O’Hare Modernization Program assure that they only plant native species, but that there is a correct technique to landscaping.

“Certain plants attract birds,” Boland said. “O’Hare is taking that into consideration.”

Alan Keller of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said, “The biggest problem at O’Hare is the control of the stormwater.”

Boland said stormwater is going into ponds onsite at the airport, and it remains there until it can be sent out and used. The water cannot be used or consumed until it meets standards.