Mirroring Desert Dunes, KPF’s Terminal A at Zayed International Airport Opens in Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Abu Dhabi International Airport has been officially renamed Zayed International Airport, Terminal A. Designed and executed by KPF, the revamped complex will accommodate up to 45 million passengers annually, doubling the airport’s capacity. Informed by the desert’s natural landscape and Islamic culture’s geometric motifs, the terminal was designed considering the Emirate’s surrounding context.
Designed to be a large airport terminal, the design aims to be customer-centric, focusing on the visitor’s experience. The form uses an X-shape design for efficiency and passenger flow. Sitting above road level, the terminal 50m tall façade and its departure hall endow the building with an open, outdoor quality. To provide passengers with daylight while protecting them from overheating, the undulated form of the roof drapes over the façade protecting it from direct sunlight.
It’s been a transformational decade for the aviation industry. Tectonic shifts in environmental, technological, and societal demands are forcing operators and designers to radically rethink how airports work – and will work – in the future. — Jochen Tombers, Managing Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox
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To aid way finding, each pier of the X form was inspired by a different element of Abu Dhabi’s character: desert, sea, city, and oasis. Additionally, The terminal features two orientation devices or large-scale “landmarks.” The first is “Sana Al Nour,” inspired by Islamic Architecture. Designed to direct light and air into the Arrivals Hall, the installation is 22m tall and is made up of curved leaves of translucent glass. Secondly, a feature staircase placed in the arrival hall sequence links the central space with the arrival corridor.
Last month, Rafael Viñoly Architects released new design renderings for the new international terminal at Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci in Florence, Italy. Designed to welcome 5.9 million passengers, the rooftop features a 19-acre productive vineyard. Foster + Partners has also started construction on the new Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Located 20km from the capital city, the design draws inspiration from the vernacular area that defines the area, designing solutions in response to the tropical climate. Finally, Foster + Partners recently won an international competition to design Abha Airport’s new terminal in Saudi Arabia. Inspired by Rijal Almaa village, the design aims to be human scaled.
In recent news, also in the United Arab Emirates, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial is ongoing until March 10th, drawing attention to the built environment in the global south. Under the theme “The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability, Tosin Oshinowo curated the exhibition, featuring contributions from 29 architects spanning 25 countries. In Dubai, Japanese design firm Nikken Sekkei completed a new building featuring the world’s longest cantilever, floating 100m above ground.
