New York’s LaGuardia Airport has long been the object of criticism and a topic for redevelopment. In May 2015, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey selected LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP) to redevelop the airport’s central terminal. The project delivery strategy is a trend-setting public/private partnership (P3) that calls for collaboration between industry-leading developers, financiers, builders, architects, engineers, and the public sector. The mission is to completely redefine the LaGuardia experience and deliver a world-class airport for a world-class city. This session will include a presentation of the project, discussion of the internal P3 team dynamic, and the importance of innovation, collaboration, and positive teaming.
Speakers:
Robert Chicas, AIA, Senior Vice President and Firm-wide Director, Aviation and Transportation, HOK
Peter Ruggiero, AIA, Senior Vice President and Design Principal, HOK
Frank Scremin, Project Manager, LaGuardia Gateway Partners
Marion White, AIA, Senior Principal and Regional Leader, Aviation and Transportation, HOK
Robert Chicas, AIA, is a global director of Aviation + Transportation based in HOK’s New York office and serves on the firm’s Board of Directors and is also a member of ACI-NA’s World Business Partners Advisory Board. With over 35 years of experience, Robert specializes in leading large-scale airport projects and is recognized throughout the industry for his ability to lead multidisciplinary teams through the delivery of complex projects. His current projects include the new Salt Lake City International Airport Terminal Redevelopment Program, and LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal B in New York. Past projects include the Indianapolis International Airport Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport Automated People Mover Expansion in Houston, the redevelopment of Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport, and also Terminal 4 at JFK. Chicas regularly speaks at industry events including Passenger Terminal Expo and the ACC/AAAE symposium. As an expert on aviation trends and enhancing the passenger experience, he has authored or contributed to more than a dozen articles in design and aviation trade publications including Passenger Terminal Today, Centerlines, BD+C Magazine, and The Atlantic’s CityLab. Chicas earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute School of Architecture.
Peter Ruggiero, AIA, studied architecture at New York Institute of Technology for his bachelor’s and Harvard University Graduate School of Design for his master’s, but his passion for buildings was ignited much earlier. Growing up, he watched the construction of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge from his New York City neighborhood. During high school and College he worked weekends and summers at New York construction sites observing and refining his attention to detail and the craft of architecture. A former partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s (SOM) New York and Chicago practices, he spent 26 years designing commercial, transportation and medical facilities throughout the U.S. and in the United Kingdom, Russia, Dubai and China. His award-winning designs include 7 World Trade Center and terminal expansions for Newark and JFK Airports. Ruggiero joined HOK in May 2011 to explore new challenges and since then he has been designing office buildings, corporate campuses, a high-performance computing center, science museum and transportation hubs. As the Design Principal of HOK’s Chicago Studio he continues his fascination with the efficiency of nature, the simplicity of industrial design and the vitality of cities. Motivated by his unrelenting curiosity he is cautious of pre-conceived responses, seeks design solutions that are based upon research and delights discovering what is not always visible.
Frank Scremin has more than 15 years of senior leadership and management experience, with active involvement in all aspects of airport management including airside and groundside operations, emergency response, commercial and business development, and capital planning and construction. Scremin joined LaGuardia Gateways Partners in September 2013 as an integral part of the team that developed the winning bid to redevelop LaGuardia’s Central Terminal B. Prior to joining LGP, Scremin was President and CEO of TradePort International Corporation, managing John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, Canada’s largest intermodal freighter gateway and a growing passenger airport serving southern Ontario. And earlier in his career, Frank spent 12 years with Union Gas Limited, a natural gas utility in southwestern Ontario. During his time with Union Gas, he acted in various capacities including engineering, operations management and business development. Frank holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and a Master of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. He is also a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario.
Marion White, AIA, is a regional leader of HOK’s Aviation and Transportation practice based in the firm’s New York office. She brings more than 30 years of project management, planning and design experience for aviation and transportation projects. With extensive experience in strategic planning, programming, and conceptual design of airport terminal master plans and passenger terminal and cargo facilities, White has special expertise mitigating project constraints and maximizing opportunities for projects constructed within an existing airport. Her recent work includes the Salt Lake City International Airport Terminal Redevelopment Program, the Boston Logan International Airport Terminal A, the Indianapolis International Airport Colonel H. Weir Cook Terminal and the JFK International Airport Terminal 4. White holds a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. She contributed to the International Air Transport Association’s Airport Development Reference Manual and has served on the Airport Consultants Council board of directors for four years. White sits on the board of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, is a member of Advancing Women in Transportation and frequently speaks at industry conferences.
