Conrac Garage Facility – Logan Int. Airport – Boston – USA

Location Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Year 2012

Designer Fennick McCredie Architecture

The four-level, 1.2-million square-foot Consolidated Rental Car Facility (CONRAC) at Logan International Airport in Boston serves eight rental-car companies that need space to rent and service as many as 5,000 vehicles.

The original plan called for inset brick to complement historic residential buildings facing the structure on two sides. But the owners wanted a more contemporary look to blend with modern airport buildings on the other sides.

Designers suggested a terracotta veneer on precast panels attached to a total-precast concrete structural system.

The panels feature 3/4-inch terracotta veneer sheets that were set into form liners with the concrete cast over them. Embedding the veneer into the panels saved about $1 million.

Bays feature interior moment frames between columns and tees. Structural walls and H frames shift lateral load-resisting elements to the perimeter so interiors could remain open without requiring shear walls.