Sky High-End Club

Opulent, classy, and spacious, the dazzling new 34,000-SF Delta Sky Club—Concourse B offers a world-class hospitality experience, including a first-ever Digital Immersion Room.
By B. H. Wright

When it comes to classy sophistication, the sparkling new Delta Sky Club—Concourse B at Salt Lake City International Airport sets an incredibly high bar in both form and function.

The opulent 34,000-SF club—Delta's second at The New SLC—offers members myriad ways to relax and decompress from the rigors of travel, highlighted by the truly unique Digital Immersion Room.

Salt Lake-based HOK worked with Zenapptic of Novato, Calif., on the impressive display, which was designed with neuroinclusive principles in mind. The innovative space surrounds guests with seven expansive screens featuring aerial views of Utah’s iconic landscapes, including the state’s five national parks and cityscapes of downtown Salt Lake architecture. Synchronized natural soundscapes enhance the visuals, creating a calming, immersive, and four-dimensional experience. Velvet drapery, darker tones, and curved acoustic baffles further support the sensory environment.

As the only club in Delta’s network to offer this experience, Salt Lake City sets a new benchmark for innovation and traveler comfort.

"We wanted it to feel like a cocoon, a space you can get away from the hustle and bustle, even from what's going on within the club," said Sarah Oppenhuizen, Director of Interiors at HOK. The seven screens are tied into the speaker system, "so you're hearing birds chirping, or a plane flying by, or a storm rolling in. Zenapptic did a fabulous job of taking these scenes, images taken all across Utah, and splitting them into layers [...] that can move in a way that makes it feel like you are actually viewing that scene."

The material palette and lighting selections also reflect and amplify Utah’s natural beauty. From warm tones to reflective surfaces, every detail connects travelers to the spirit of the state. 

The club itself is a diverse wonder of breathtaking spaces created from a highly curated and layered material palette. Each space was meticulously crafted into "neighborhoods" appealing to myriad client tastes and preferences. 

There are eight specific ceiling systems, eight custom terrazzo blends, a dozen tile products, and dynamic specialty lighting—creating a refined ambience inspired by Utah’s diverse landscapes while maintaining the elevated experience synonymous with Delta's iconic brand.

The distinct neighborhoods highlight the club's supreme functionality supporting a robust 600-seat capacity—it's Delta's second-largest club after La Guardia in New York City—while maintaining comfort, intuitive circulation, and a soothing acoustical environment. 

Larger-scale stone flooring with red accents evokes a natural hiking path while providing durability and ease of movement for guests with rolling luggage. Sound-absorbing properties are integrated into ceilings and select walls throughout the space to maintain a serene guest experience.

“Creating distinct neighborhoods gave us the flexibility to increase seating capacity without sacrificing comfort,” said Mishael Thompson, Design Lead at Delta Air Lines. “Guests can easily find a space that fits how they want to travel—whether that’s social, private, or somewhere in between.”

“The goal was to bring a true sense of place into the space without overwhelming the guest,” added Oppenhuizen. “By layering materials, color, and technology, we were able to reference Utah’s landscape in a subtle way while maintaining the timeless, hospitality-driven feel of a Delta Sky Club.”

Design elements on Level 2, which serves as the entry experience, incorporate cooler whites and blues inspired by a Park City winter, while Level 3 transitions to warmer reds and bronze tones that reference Utah’s caves and caverns. A signature seating area at the top of the escalators—featuring layered blue furnishings and a rippled metal ceiling—draws inspiration from the Great Salt Lake. 

An expansive, curving bar is an eye-catcher—a unique reflective ceiling above with twinkling lights is a highlight that recalls the state’s copper mines. Blue-veined marble countertops in the space reflect crystal-like light fixtures reminiscent of stalactites, adding a sense of natural wonder.

Emphasis on High-Quality Finishes, Resort-like Feel
Maintaining the Delta brand is always a top priority for designers, and while explicitly branded elements in Delta Sky Clubs are minimal—primarily limited to the check-in area and select touchpoints—the broader brand strategy centers on elevating the airport experience through high-quality design, materials, and comfort. Branding is subtly expressed through a hospitality-driven environment that conveys both luxury and durability.

“We want all our guests to feel like they’ve just stepped into a high-end hotel lobby—not an airport,” said Thompson. “That sense of arrival, comfort, and quiet luxury is fundamental to how we think about the Delta Sky Club experience, and this project truly delivers on that vision.”

While program standards remain consistent across all Delta Sky Clubs to ensure familiarity, hub locations such as Salt Lake City provide opportunities to further elevate the experience through regionally inspired materials and design cues. This balance of consistency and localization reinforces Delta’s brand promise while allowing each club to feel distinctive and connected to its location.

The new club is larger than its sister Delta Sky Club in Concourse A—that one checks in at 29,000 SF. The expanded footprint provided opportunities to further elevate the experience through additional amenities, greater spatial variety, and a stronger emphasis on regional design elements while still maintaining consistency with Delta’s established Sky Club standards.

Attention to detail is a Delta hallmark, added Thompson, with high-quality finishes essential to the project's overall aesthetic. Achieving this level of quality required extensive coordination, including detailed submittal reviews to ensure each material and design element met Delta’s performance and durability standards. Attention to craftsmanship played a critical role in delivering a club that aligns with Delta’s elevated brand experience.

“Our guests notice the details,” Thompson emphasized. “From the durability of finishes to how materials feel and perform over time, quality was non-negotiable on this project.”

    Collaboration, Communication Critical During Design Process 

    Oppenhuizen said the team visited a handful of Delta Sky Clubs, including Los Angeles (LAX), Phoenix (PHX), and Kansas City (MCI), to get a sense of the high-quality, high-end elements found in these exquisite clubs. 


    During design, with Concourse B under construction as part of the multi-phase $5.1 billion Salt Lake City Airport Redevelopment Program (SLC ARP), Delta requested that Level 3—the Sky Club level—be expanded from 19,000 SF to nearly 30,000 SF. While the SLC ARP team was able to accommodate the expansion, the request resulted in an overlap between base building construction and interior design development.


    To maintain the schedule, the design team issued early coordination packages that allowed the base building contractor to complete essential infrastructure—including kitchen, restroom, bar and seat power systems—before the Sky Club construction team mobilized. This approach required close collaboration and rapid decision-making across all project partners.


    “Designing while the base building was still under construction required a high level of trust and fast decision-making,” said Elizabeth Paredes, Technical Coordinator for HOK. “The early coordination packages were critical to keeping the project on schedule and ensuring nothing was compromised in the final design.”


    From an interior design perspective, Delta’s core design principles of socialize, respite, focus, discover, relax, and journey are embedded in the club’s design and final construction. Guests can socialize at the bar, find respite in the immersion room, focus in one of the many phone booths, discover Utah’s beauty in the incredible views, relax by the fireplace, and take a journey through the state’s landscapes via the hiking path. 


    Familiarity with GC Leads to Smooth Construction Process

    The project was delivered by Atlanta-based Holder Construction via CMAR, creating a collaborative environment among the contractor, subcontractors, owner, and design team. This delivery approach was essential in resolving complex details and executing the high level of customization required for the space, where nearly every element was thoughtfully curated for this specific club and location.


    “The CMAR delivery method created a true team environment,” said Kenneth Dodson, General Manager of Corporate Real Estate at Delta Air Lines. “With so many custom elements, having everyone at the table early made a significant difference in solving challenges efficiently.”


    From a tenant improvement standpoint, the process was especially smooth because the Holder–Big-D (HDJV) joint venture—the general contractor for SLC ARP—had completed core and shell work. That continuity meant the Holder team was familiar with the existing infrastructure, minimizing impacts to active concourse operations and allowing a strong focus on premium finishes and specialty detailing.


    In addition, key Salt Lake-based subcontractors Archer Mechanical and Cache Valley Electric had experience working on the massive airport redevelopment and were proficient with the details of the mechanical and electrical systems, which Oppenhuizen said was a "huge advantage" that aided the construction schedule. 


    Due to the active airport environment, material deliveries were restricted to nighttime hours and required close coordination with Delta’s operations team. Large east-facing windows were temporarily removed to install a roll-up door and ramp for material access. These were removed approximately two months prior to TCO to complete interior finishes.


    Ultimately, Delta Sky Club—Concourse B stands as one of the finest clubs in all of Salt Lake, not just at the airport.


    "In a portfolio as broad as HOK's, this project is certainly meaningful," added Oppenhuizen. "The scale and the introduction of Delta's first Digital Immersion Room make it a special addition, but what really stands out is the collaboration behind it. It's a project we're proud of because it reflects what can happen when people come together to do something thoughtfully and well."

    

    —Anna Katherine Daley from Delta contributed substantially to this article.

    Delta Sky Club—SLC Concourse B

    Location: Salt Lake City International Airport—Concourse B

    Cost:  $45,900,000

    Delivery Method: Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) 

    Stories/Levels: 2

    Square Footage: 34,000 SF


    Owner:     Delta Air Lines

    Owner's Rep: Corporate Real Estate (Kenneth Dodson); Delta Sky Club (Mishael Thompson)


    Design Team

    Architect: HOK

    Electrical & Mechanical Engineer: HOK

    Structural Engineer: HOK

    Interior Design: HOK


    Construction Team

    General Contractor: Holder Construction Group

    Interior Concrete: Suntec Concrete

    Plumbing: Archer Mechanical

    HVAC: Archer Mechanical, RM Chris Sheet Metal (subtier ductwork; sheet metal)

    Electrical: Cache Valley Electric

    Drywall & Painting: DAW Construction Group

    Wall Coverings: Quirk

    Tile/Stone: Wall 2 Wall Commercial Flooring, MLG Flooring (subtier tile)

    Millwork: ISEC

    Flooring: FW Specialties (terrazzo), Wall 2 Wall Commercial Flooring (carpet/resilient)

    Roofing: Flynn (patching) 

    Glazing/Curtain Wall: Mollerup Glass (interior), Steel Encounters (exterior/curtain wall)

    Misc. Steel: Intermark Steel 

    Food Service: Johnson-Lancaster & Associates

    Ceilings: Golder 

    Fire Protection/Sprinkler: Fire Engineering Company

    Custom Fireplace: Goodrich Chimney Services

    Doors/Frames/Hardware: Unified Door & Hardware Group,  Jensen’s Cabinets (custom restroom DFH)

    Signage: YESCO

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