The Southwest Airlines Maintenance Hangar at Denver International Airport (DEN) was recognized among ENR Mountain States’ Best Projects for 2023, receiving an Award of Merit in the airport / transit category. Ghafari is honored to have supported this significant project and celebrates this award alongside our construction partner, Swinerton.
Ghafari provided full architecture and engineering services for the LEED-certified 130,100 SF aircraft maintenance center, which accommodates the airport’s growth while enhancing Southwest’s maintenance operations. Designed to house three 737 airplanes and park eight more on the apron, the hangar is the first of its kind at DEN. The heavy steel and structural concrete building features a 207-foot clear span that is nearly the length of a football field and required 48,000 cubic yards of concrete to construct. The specialized facility is a template for similarly sized hangars that the airline is planning at strategic locations throughout the U.S.
The DEN facility is Ghafari’s second completed aircraft maintenance center project for Southwest. We designed the airline’s aircraft maintenance center at one of their largest hubs at William P. Hobby International Airport in Houston, Texas, which opened in 2020. Southwest is also constructing another Ghafari-designed hangar at Baltimore / Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
