Wellington International Airport by Warren & Mahoney and Studio Pacific

Inside awards: Wellington International Airport by Warren & Mahoney and Studio Pacific from Dezeen on Vimeo.

In this interview taken from our series of Dezeen Talks filmed at the Inside awards in Barcelona, Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs talks to Nick Barratt-Boyes of Studio Pacific and Ralph Roberts of Warren & Mahoney about their design for a new terminal at Wellington International Airport, where copper-clad structures connect three exisiting buildings.

Barratt-Boyes and Roberts explain how their client’s brief for “a design to divide opinion” became the driving force of the project, the controversy it caused and the attractions of their native New Zealand.

via : http://www.dezeen.com/2011/12/16/dezeen-screen-wellington-international-airport-by-warren-mahoney-and-studio-pacific/

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London Britannia Airport by Gensler

Architecture firm Gensler have released a conceptual proposal for a new floating airport for London, located in the Thames Estuary with terminals connected by underwater tunnels.

Unlike previous concepts for a new London airport, including last year’s proposal by Foster + Partners, Gensler’s plans do not involve pouring earth into the river for land reclamation. Instead, “we’re going to float the scheme on giant platforms,” explains Ian Mulcahey, the firm’s global head of planning.

The proposal comes as the UK government looks at ways to increase airport capacity in south-east England. Called London Britannia Airport, it would comprise four floating runways tethered to the seabed and departure concourses leading to underwater rail tunnels, which would connect passengers to central London as well as European rail networks.

Passengers coming by car would travel to three land-based terminals – two located north and south of the estuary and a third proposed between Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park. The proposal also includes plans to transform Heathrow Airport into an eco city providing homes for 300,000 people.

Above image shows sketch for Heathrow Eco City

Talking to Dezeen about the possibility of a third runway at Heathrow, Mulcahey said that would “only be a sticking plaster.” Instead of wasting time on a short-term solution, he thinks it would be better to start again properly: “The scheme totally rethinks how the airport of the future will operate.”

See more stories about airports here.

Here’s some more information from Gensler:

Global design firm Gensler reveals its concept for a new London aviation hub. London Britannia Airport (LBA) would position the capital as the global gateway for Europe in what would be the world’s most innovative infrastructure development this century, while reducing environmental impact, cost and disruption to London.

Providing a further endorsement to the Thames Estuary as the preferred location for London’s new airport, Gensler have designed a unique solution creating an entirely new approach to modern airport design and construction with a clear focus on convenience and accessibility.

The proposals also envisage a new future for Heathrow as the largest urban expansion project in Europe with the development of an eco city – Heathrow Gardens – on the former airfield that can utilise the existing infrastructure to provide additional homes for 300,000 people and employment for over 200,000.

Chris Johnson, Gensler managing principal and the creative director for the airport said: “This is a once in a century project that will build on the capital’s reputation for innovation and creativity and provide a new symbol of national pride. This is a fantastic opportunity to rethink the problems created by a redundant 20th century airport model and provide a genuine 21st century airport that creates a new standard for the world, minimising nuisance and maximising environmental benefits.”

Ian Mulcahey, Project Director: “This will be a ‘national’ infrastructure project that can inject new pace and dynamism into our economy. The airport can be quickly manufactured in the ship yards and steel works across the UK and can be floated by sea and positioned in the Estuary. This isn’t a London Airport, it is a Global Airport, designed, manufactured and built in the UK.”

Environmental Benefits

The relocation of a UK hub airport to the Thames Estuary will provide a state of the art facility that will transform the quality of life for millions of Londoners and will provide London with the space and infrastructure to grow and thrive over the next century. The marine location not only minimises noise disruption to existing communities whilst enabling 24 hour passenger arrival and departure, but it also avoids any demolition of homes.

Building upon the UK’s capability as a world leader in marine construction, London Britannia Airport includes four five-kilometre floating runways. To minimise environmental disruption the runways are tethered to the sea bed and to the final departure concourse which provides access to the marine rail tunnels that connect directly to central London and the European High Speed Rail Networks.

The design’s inherent flexibility creates a platform whereby runways can be floated in as required and taken away for maintenance in the future. The concept allows for future expansion to accommodate 6 runways when required.

By floating the runway and its associated hard standing it is possible to avoid the negative effects of land reclamation in the sensitive estuarine waters of the Thames. The location of the airport can then be optimised to avoid the key feeding and migration areas between high and low water.

London Britannia will have a sustainable access strategy with unparalleled accessibility to the UK and Europe through a combination of rail, ferry and jetfoil connections. Vehicular access will be dispersed to three new land based Departure/Arrival terminals, two located north and south of the estuary, and a third Central London terminal proposed between Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park.

The airport has also been designed to generate much of its own power from marine turbines situated within, and adjacent to the floating runways.

via : http://www.dezeen.com/2012/09/05/london-britannia-airport-by-gensler/

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Jeddah International Airport by OMA

OMA in the Middle East: Office for Metropolitan Architecture have designed a new international airport for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Located between Jeddah and Mecca, the airport will cater for the two million pilgrims who make the journey to Mecca during the holy Hajj period and features a special terminal for the Saudi Royal Family (top two images).

The main terminal is in the shape of a ring with an oasis at its centre and is configured to cope with a massive increase in visitor numbers during the Hajj, while the smaller Royal terminal echoes the form of the larger building.

Below is a statement from OMA:

–

NEW JEDDAH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

For 33 days per year the new Jeddah Airport will host the influx of two million Muslims for the holy Hajj period in Mecca. No other airport in the world can claim such overwhelming specificity of its use. These programmatic requirements form the base for a new approach to both the organization of the airport and its architecture.

Predictability over indeterminacy

Airports come in two sizes: too big and too small. Fundamentally compromised by the necessity to accommodate unpredictable future expansions, airports are ultimately forced to ‘gamble’ on their right size. In terms of its design the airport is condemned to a permanent open end.

With the Hajj as one of the main defining elements, the new Jeddah International Airport presents a unique situation: its expansion is a given in advance, occurring at a fixed moment for a fixed length of time. This relative predictability allows the design of the Jeddah airport to acquire a level of specificity unheard of in a ‘regular’ airport: allowing the rehabilitation of the particular over the general, of centrality over linearity, and of character over blandness.

Arrival over departure

Airports are primarily places one leaves from. With the business trip and the vacation as the airport’s main, perhaps even only, use, the excitement of going away generally outweighs that of coming back.

This discrepancy is also expressed in the design of the airport, with departures generally located in a ‘grandiose space’ on top (mostly under a billowing roof) and arrivals located in a flat utilitarian luggage-collect-space below, making the first acquaintance with a new destination often one of disappointment.

The unique condition and purpose of the new Jeddah International Airport presents us with a compelling reason to consider arriving with the same consideration as leaving. (Mecca you don’t leave, to Mecca you go!)

The surface required by the Hajj equals that of the airport itself. Accommodating the Hajj theoretically means building the same volume twice, with one volume being empty for most of the year. In the current situation this is solved by having the Hajj section as a temporary structure in the form of a big tent.

Design Proposal.

The initial proposal resulted in six different schemes with an emblematic quality. The final design follows the organizing principal of ‘the ring’. Both the main terminal and Royal pavilion with their crescent-like shape enclose an internal oasis that can accommodate different forms of use. The layout of the airport is organized in such a way that Airport and Hajj become a single integrated whole without forcing the airport to double in size.

The design realizes departures and arrivals on the same level allowing both to benefit from the same spatial conditions. The realization of departure and arrival on a single level creates a large surface that equals that of the Hajj, allowing the Hajj to be accommodated on the same footprint as the airport itself. No longer realized as a separate section, the Hajj becomes the almost casual by-product of a particular airport design. The Hajj becomes the invisible twin that – at fixed moments – allows the airport to expand its size.

Project: International Airport for Jeddah

Status: Commission 2005

Client: Wthheld

Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Site: Desert btween Jeddah and Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Program: New International Airport with Hadj facilities and royal family terminal

Partner: Rem Koolhaas

Associate: Fernando Donis

Team: Gustavo Guimarães, Laurent Troost, Miho Mazereeuw, Katrin Betschinger, Joshua Beck, Haiko Cornelissen, Léonie Wenz, Filipe Balestra, João Amaro, Inge Goudsmit, Joao Ruivo, Ben Milbourne, Tiago Branco-Sampaio

Project: International Airport for Jeddah

Status: Commission 2005

Client: Wthheld

Location: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Site: Desert btween Jeddah and Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Program: New International Airport with Hadj facilities and royal family terminal

Partner: Rem Koolhaas

Associate: Fernando Donis

Team: Gustavo Guimarães, Laurent Troost, Miho Mazereeuw, Katrin Betschinger, Joshua Beck, Haiko Cornelissen, Léonie Wenz, Filipe Balestra, João Amaro, Inge Goudsmit, Joao Ruivo, Ben Milbourne, Tiago Branco-Sampaio

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Brussels Airport Connector / UNStudio

Seeking to unite functions of the three existing buildings of Brussels Airport, architects at UNStudio introduced an elongated fibrous structure. The insertion establishes its own identity while serving as a connection between contrasting entities of the terminal and Pier A. It is a fully integrated commercial zone which facilitates various operational processes, retail functions, etc. Once past the screening area, the passengers are introduced to a duty-free shopping area and led towards a double height central plaza with cafes. The elevated Cockpit occupies the highest area of the Connector, offering best views of the plaza below as well as the planes, landing and taking off.

The structural design principles for the Connector Building are based on a sustainable approach formed with consideration to site constraints, constructability and operational flexibility.The infrastructural element introduced to the existing configuration translates its visual identity into a recognizable imagery of fluent and undulating forms. This intervention is consistent with the ambition of management to transform the Brussels Airport into a future European hub. It provides a pleasant and memorable passenger experience and unifies the entire Airport into a striking landmark architecture.

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