At PTE World Conference 2026, which will take place in London next week (March 17, 18 & 19), Katie Franco, director of communications at Monterey Regional Airport, and Bart van Vliet, practice leader – aviation and transportation at HOK, will deliver a presentation titled ‘Runways to resilience: MRY’s pathway to net zero terminal design’. To get further detail on the project ahead of the presentation, PTT spoke with Chris Morello, the airport’s executive director.
What will the presentation be about?
This session will explore Monterey Regional Airport’s pathway to delivering a net zero terminal, told from the owner’s perspective and in collaboration with HOK. It will highlight how program optimization, passive load reduction strategies, a mass timber structure and high-performance MEP systems have been integrated to create a zero net energy-ready, all-electric terminal scheduled to open in 2027.
The presentation will also examine how environmental performance, cost control and architectural excellence can be aligned, demonstrating how smaller regional airports can serve as scalable, regenerative models for carbon-neutral and community-centered infrastructure.
Achieving net zero operational and embodied carbon presents unique challenges. What were the most complex obstacles MRY faced in setting these sustainability targets?
Monterey Regional Airport set clearly defined goals for its five-gate, 60,000ft2 (5,500m2) replacement terminal. We charged the project team with delivering a facility that would achieve LEED Platinum certification, reduce energy use by at least 20% below code and exceed California’s CALGreen requirements. We also wanted a terminal that would be cost-effective to operate and maintain, constructed with materials of lower environmental impact. These objectives informed decisions across all disciplines involved in the project.
Having clear targets helped us balance costs and understand what we were willing to do to meet those goals. Not everything is equally achievable at our budget. For example, airports have a high process energy load from preconditioned air systems, baggage handling systems, apron lighting, ground power units and electrified ground service vehicle charging. The systems driving this high process energy load have limited potential for energy use reduction and often make up 30% to 50% of the whole building airport energy use. To offset this high amount of process energy use requires an extremely high-performance building envelope, lighting, HVAC, and domestic water heating systems to reduce energy use below the existing PV array renewable energy production.
How did the integrated design process – across programming, structure, envelope and MEP systems – help reduce total carbon impact?
Our integrated design process played a large role in reducing the terminal’s total carbon impact. Integrated design and engineering allowed for a focused coordination between structure and building system and ultimately paved the way for a mass timber approach.
The integrated design process required close and continuous reviews between the design team and the airport to ensure that the systems are custom fit to the airport’s needs. Luckily, in a smaller regional airport, terminal building systems can be located closer to the end-use devices and space loads. The right-size space programming allowed for a reduction in MEP equipment rooms, distribution equipment and distribution pathways. By reducing the quantity of equipment and length of distribution pathways, the embodied carbon of MEP and telecommunications building systems was much less compared to a traditional design. Additionally, the reduction in distribution pathways reduced pressure losses through the duct and piping pathways which reduced the building fan and pump energy uses.
Mass timber is a defining feature of the new terminal. What role did material selection play in balancing sustainability, cost and long-term resilience?
During the community’s visioning sessions for their new terminal, residents made it clear that they didn’t want an industrial feel to the building. They wanted the new terminal to be comfortable and feel directly connected to Monterey County’s natural environment. This meant connecting the outside with the inside, and bringing in the region’s outdoor elements: redwoods, coastal shores, even agriculture. Mass timber softens the terminal and provides the natural feel that the community – and the airport – is looking for.
Mass timber is an appealing material because of its abundance and ability to offset the building’s carbon footprint, but the timber often comes from Canada and Europe. With our federal funding restrictions, we needed to buy American-made products and materials. The final compromise between budget, sourcing and sustainable materials was to prioritize mass timber in public spaces, where it can elevate the aesthetic and reflect MRY’s vision for the space. The other areas of the facility are a hybrid of steel and mass timber.
What lessons from procurement and stakeholder engagement could benefit other regional airports pursuing similar ambitions?
Procurement: Our remote location is a challenge for every project, and we usually pay a premium due to limited local labor resources. Further, our local market means vendors with limited opportunities for “newer” technologies and less trained personnel. Work early on with your local contractors to allow time for training and engagement. It’s a challenge and an opportunity for them to grow their business by getting expertise in these areas. We looked at procurement with the same life-cycle cost approach as the terminal development: with an ever-increasing cost of energy, we had to provide efficient systems that might cost more initially but have significant long-term benefits. Similarly, we had to invest at the beginning with our contractors to gain those long-term benefits.
Stakeholder engagement: Early discussions with community revealed an abiding interest in sustainability, and to make the new airport terminal feel specific to the Monterey region. We leaned into the community’s existing focus on sustainable travel and used it as a north star to explain our steps in the project. Keep your community’s goals as your own, and the continued two-way communications will keep you from straying from your goals.
What is the key message you would like delegates to take away from this session?
We are a regional, remote airport – not connected to a metropolitan area. But just because you’re small doesn’t mean you have to do less. Regional airports can do great things by being clear on your goals and consistent in your efforts.
Setting articulated goals (never a stretch goal, always a requirement) helps an airport message to both the community and its elected officials that while it might cost a bit more to reach the goal we have set, we are not wavering from success. Announcing these goals forces airports to find innovative ways to stay within budget, without having to disappoint your community.
To hear more valuable industry insights from top aviation executives, book a conference pass for PTE World Conference 2026, which will take place on March 17, 18 & 19 in London, UK.
