View Smart Windows provide natural light while minimizing heat and glare at O’Hare’s Terminal 5

View Inc., a provider of smart building technologies, unveiled its new extensive Smart Windows installation at the recently completed 350,000-square-foot expansion of Terminal 5 at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The Terminal 5 expansion includes several new gates and two new lounges with View Smart Windows.

Numerous Chicago city officials and dignitaries, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, were on hand to officially introduce the new light-filled terminal to the public at a celebration event on January 31.

In her opening remarks at the grand opening, Mayor Lightfoot reflected on the improved terminal saying, “This is incredible. It is big, it is wide, it is bright, it is welcoming, and we are lucky to have this work done here.”

View Smart Windows use artificial intelligence to optimize the amount of natural light in the terminal while minimizing heat and glare, to provide a more comfortable and healthier environment for passengers. In addition, smart windows reduce energy consumption by lowering cooling loads.

This project sets the standard for sustainable, passenger-centric airport design. We are proud to contribute to O’Hare’s sustainability initiatives and make a good first impression of Chicago for the millions of passengers that travel through Terminal 5 each year.

Dr. Piers MacNaughton, VP of Institutional Business at View Inc.

The new View Smart Windows at O’Hare International serve as a key component of an over $1 billion modernization of the airport’s Terminal 5. Designed by the architecture firms Muller2 and HOK, the upgraded Terminal 5 mimics the sleek form of an airplane wing and includes floor-to-ceiling View windows that increase natural light and offer expansive views of the runway. The expansion also increases the terminal’s gate capacity by 25 percent with 10 new gates, new concessions, and includes a brand-new Delta Sky Club premium lounge facility also featuring View Smart Windows.

In a study on the impact of natural light and the airport experience, passengers rated a concourse with View Smart Windows as 33 percent more modern, efficient, bright, and comfortable than one with traditional windows. Passengers were also 68 percent more likely to report being “very satisfied” with their overall experience in gates with View Smart Windows.

View Smart Windows have been installed at several airports, including Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport (DFW), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Memphis International Airport (MEM), Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Phoenix Sky-Harbor International Airport (PHX), and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).