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In general, almost all integrations in Saarinen's Dulles Airport Terminal involve the structure of the building. Visually the structure is integrated with the envelope system and the interior system by being those systems. The concrete columns, ceiling, and glass walls are exposed. To further the visual integration of these systems Saarinen used cement that was made from the same limestone deposit to ensure that the color would be uniform. The uniform color helps to unify the different parts of the building, while the varied texture helps to express the different parts. The size of the aggregate and the surface was varied for different parts of the structure. Parking areas have a rough, non-skid, exposed aggregate finish, the columns were bush-hammered for texture, and the floor is polished.
The building is also visually integrated with the site. The swooping form of the roof was designed to appear to hover over the large flat site. The form also expresses the movement involved in air travel by appearing to be ready to take off at any moment. This was one of Saarinen's architectural intentions. By building the parking level lower than the main terminal, Saarinen was able to create the appearance of the building being built into the site through the vertical layering of the building. The parking area is the lowest area visible from the exterior. The building then steps up to passenger deplaning area, and again to the enplaning area and the main terminal.
The mechanical systems are hardly integrated with the exterior or interior systems. The return air ducts are located at the base of the curtain wall windows along with electrical outlets. This appears to be the only part of the mechanical system that is visible from the main space of the terminal. The lower level of the building contains approximately 10 "mechanical" rooms. The space between the upper floor structure and the lay-in ceiling of the lower level allows the mechanical and electrical systems to be distributed throughout the building. The mechanical systems are literally tucked away and not intended to be seen. The one benefit of this is that the sculptural forms of the ceiling and the upper level columns remain relatively uninterrupted due to the location of the mechanical and electrical systems in the floor.
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