For the design of the Sky Train Rental Car Center (RCC) Station connecting the terminals and transportation hubs at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, the SmithGroup was seeking a modern material to compliment the airport aesthetic.

The clear choice was metal with its strong identity to the aviation and transportation industry. Serving more than 120,000 passengers per day, the architects built off the theme of the existing 44th Street PHX Sky Train Station in designing the new station’s concave and convex overarching metal roofs, highlighted by uplighting.

The LEED Gold station is covered with a coil coated .040 in. BEMO aluminum standing seam roof with DURA COAT PVDF and Kovach aluminum composite metal panels cladding the walls, perimeter gutter, fascia and soffit.   

The curving roof design shelters passengers from the sun while the dynamic forms simulate the constant movement of the trains and complement the fluid lines of aviation design. The curved rooflines also mimic aircraft flight patterns and serve as identifiable wayfinding points for travelers.