Additional renderings have been revealed as part of a new fly-through video of the upcoming Concourse D at O’Hare International Airport. The new concourse marks the first major expansion at the airport since the Terminal 5 expansion was completed in 2023. It is also the first phase of the overall ORDNext project and is expected to be completed in 2028.
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Concourse D will sit southwest of the existing Concourse C and will be connected via an elevated tunnel. The tunnel will lead to the concourse’s anchor, The Orchard. This large circular space will hold 30,000 square feet of lounge space, along with restaurants, bars, retail, and seating areas, drawing inspiration from the airport’s history and its original name, Orchard Field.
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
The 580,000-square-foot structure will contain 19 new gates, which can be configured in multiple ways to serve aircraft of various sizes, including widebodies for long-haul service. The concourse will also be able to handle international arrivals, featuring a suspended sterile corridor that will guide passengers to a new passport control center to be completed later as part of the overall project.
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
The structure will feature 40-foot-tall ceilings supported by branching columns meant to mimic the aforementioned orchard. The concourse will be capped on the south end by a large wall of windows framing views of the city to the east. Eventually, the concourse will also be connected to the new Global Terminal and Concourse E via an underground tunnel.
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
ORDNext will add 14 percent more gate capacity at a crucial point in the airport’s history, as O’Hare recently reclaimed the title of the nation’s busiest airport by aircraft movements, with 857,300 total in 2025. This expansion also comes as United and American turn up the heat in their battle for the airport, with both airlines recently purchasing gates from Spirit.
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Rendering of Concourse D by SOM, Ross Barney, Arup, and JGMA
Construction began in early 2025 with site work, underground utilities, and tunneling for the building. Vertical construction is expected to begin soon, with equipment already on-site. Additionally, O’Hare is set to award the largest concessions contract in the nation this March, which will include 110 commercial locations in Terminals 1 and 3.
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I wish ORDNext would provide some construction pics. A time lapse of the work would be nice too.
Lol. 14% more gates. So, more planes, longer taxi times than they already are. Lovely. O’Hare is the worst “busiest” airport.
It needs a full rebuild and model it like Atlanta. That’s an efficient airport for movements.
It ongoing reconfiguration of O’Hare largely has already been modeled on the efficient aspects of Hartsfield (the parallel runways, the separation of support & passengers systems, etc.). The reconfiguration of the terminals, along with the new remote concourses (of which this is the first), will make the north south access from the parallel runways as efficient as possible in terms of taxi times, without a complete rebuild…which would cost 20x more than what is being proposed (not to mention would cripple Chicago air travel for the duration of such an extensive demolition & reconstruction).
Looks like this will be the best passenger environment at O’Hare. Love the columns, orchard and skyline vista. One can only hope it all gets realized and maintained with the vegetation intact.
Great overall concept and design. Why have the seating face away from the skyline view along the curtain wall? That high ledge behind that seating will become a garbage dump. Maybe have that broken up in a few places? The seating doesn’t look developed. Where is phone chargers and trash, this stuff needs to be integrated not added after furniture. The close up interior renderings should be showing this.
I am assuming that O’hare is gonna have 2 International Passport Control Areas, the future global terminal and terminal 5?
I was under the assumption all international flights would be moving out of terminal 5 once this was all complete. On a semi-related note, the baggage area of terminal 5 is currently the saddest place in all of ORD, and is probably the worst way possible to welcome people to this city.
Reminds me a bit of Vancouver International, one of my favorite airports.
Concourse E is going to be a longgggggg walk from security.