That was quick.

One month after we snapped a dirt lot at the exterior of the West Gates at Los Angeles International Airport, the $400-million Midfield Satellite Concourse South has already topped out.

Topping out ceremony for MSC SouthLAWA

“Residents of Los Angeles and visitors to our amazing city are already experiencing the ongoing modernization at LAX, and with its swift project timeline and distinctive construction approach, they can expect to enjoy all of the benefits of MSC South next year," said Los Angeles Councilmember Traci Park in a LAWA news release. "As MSC South approaches its final stages of construction, this homage to Los Angeles' iconic modernist legacy is set to become a source of pride for every visitor to the site."

The 150,000-square-foot building, an extension of the West Gates, will feature eight gates for narrow-body aircraft when completed in 2025.

The relatively modest steel framing seen at the topping out ceremony belies what will be a larger project at completion. The MSC South is being built with what is described as a "first-of-its-kind" technique called Offsite Construction and Relocation, where the building is built in nine components at a site roughly a mile-and-a-half away from the terminal site.

The design by Woods Bagot, which calls for an L-shaped footprint and an exterior brise soleil system, is intended as an homage to L.A.'s famed modernist homes.

Diagram showing MSC South and connection to West GatesLAWA

The project is just one component of LAX's $14.5-billion capital improvement project, which has brought about renovated terminals, new ground transportation hubs, and an automated people mover system.

Not included int that total is plans for yet another expansion of the airport's capacity. Plans released in 2019 call for an expansion of Terminal 1 and the construction of a new Terminal 9 on the east side of Sepulveda Boulevard.

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