The $29 million renovation has added 18,000 square feet to the terminal and improved the facilities across the existing 12,000 square-feet.
The terminal building improvement started about 20 months back with the prime objective of updating the airport’s security screening facilities, says E. Foley Vaughan, chairman of the Nantucket Memorial Airport Commission.
Airport leadership has tried to convert the terminal into a more environmentally friendly facility and as a result the airport has received new geothermal heating and air conditioning system.
The geothermal system draws water from wells that run 180 feet deep beneath the terminal. A heat exchanger device has been installed to remove heat from the water and uses that energy to heat or cool the building.
The geothermal system enables the facility to remove two oil-burning furnaces and thereby reduces the carbon footprint of the airport’s climate control to nearly zero.
Other green features are also incorporated into design, such as dark-sky friendly exterior lights indicating minimal light pollution.
The bathrooms feature Dyson Airblade hand dryers replacing disposable paper towels or warm-air hand dryers. The equipment uses forceful streams of cool air to essentially scrape water off from hands. The technology uses 80% less energy than conventional hand dryers, according to Dyson.
Energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs are used throughout the facility, and insulated glazing has been used on teh the windows.
New Jersey-based Skanska USA Building managed construction on the project and California firm AECOM designed both the architectural and engineering components of the building.
