World-famous architect Eero Saarinen designed the Dulles Airport terminal, meaning the coming Metro station won’t be a simple addition to your run-of-the-mill streetscape. What will it look like?

Photo by Joe Ravi on Wikipedia Commons.

Reader Lee Bristol wants to know:

Are there any current illustrations for the architectural design of the new Metro station at Dulles? Its prominent location opposite the iconic Saarinen Terminal certainly makes this a significant design challenge requiring an exceptional design. Is there is a public source of information documenting the design?

Matt Johnson and Edward Russell both pointed out that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which built the first phase of the Silver Line and is building the second as well, has a Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project site with information on all of the current and proposed Metro stations on the Silver Line. The current illustrations for the design of the Dulles Airport station are on the station’s information page.

The Dulles Airport station will have a unique design, like Anacostia and a few other stations. The other five new Silver Line stations will have the “gambrel” design like Wiehle Avenue.

Final rendering of Dulles Airport station. Photo by Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

The station will mimic and reflect the iconic Saarinen terminal The platform will be screened by a diagonal glass wall like the terminal. From there, escalators and elevators will descend to the mezzanine one level below grade.

The mezzanine will be to one side of an existing tunnel connecting the north parking garage with the terminal. Metro riders will be able to use the existing tunnel and its moving walkways to get to the terminal.

Final rendering of Dulles Airport station. Photo by Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

In 2012, Dan Malouff posted conceptual renderings of the station on his blog. Guidelines for the station had come up in the Silver Line’s environmental review phase.

Conceptual rendering of Dulles Airport station. Photo by BeyondDC.

Finally, commenter John R. Cambron recently posted about progress on the second phase of the Silver Line, including construction of the new Dulles Airport station.

Excavation for the Dulles Airport station mezzanine is underway. Photo by John R. Cambron.

Do you have a question? Each week, we’ll pose a question to the Greater Greater Washington contributors and post appropriate parts of the discussion. You can suggest questions by emailing ask@ggwash.org. Questions about factual topics are most likely to be chosen. Thanks!

Michael Lewis is a native of Montgomery County and currently lives in Olney. He has a BS in Community & Regional Planning from Temple University in Philadelphia. An avid rider of Metrobus and Metrorail, he was formerly a Professional Development Associate at the American Planning Association and an intern at the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County.