Displaying items by tag: Terminal 3
Sunday, 11 January 2009 12:04
Open all hours
The duty free area in Dubai International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is designed to excite and inspire, writes Stewart Caddick.
For a retail organisation turning over more than a billion dollars a year from a single location, the planning and design of Dubai Duty Free's (DDF) outlets is high on the list of critical success factors.
The award winning operator of the key tax-free facilities at Dubai International Airport quite literally demands that its stores are outstanding in terms of their location, appearance and sale merchandise.
When you take into account that Terminal 3 is the new home base of Dubai national flag carrier, Emirates, perhaps the best expression to sum up what DDF wanted was the ‘wow factor’.
Its requirements and the sheer size of the retail area involved – 6,000sqm of space on the departures level within Concourse 2, a further 2,000sqm at arrivals and 800sqm landside – ensured that planning its creation was no ordinary project. Indeed, the new T3 provides a fascinating case study of retail development on a large scale.
The planning process began back in 2004 and involved three key stages – master planning to define the layout, conceptualisation to develop the offer and design development to turn the concepts into shops.
The first of these stages involved a high level of co-operation between landlord and tenant (or in this case airport operator and Dubai Duty Free), which unfortunately, is not common practice today.
In fact, all too often, airport authorities allow infrastructure architects with no experience of a gateway’s commercial potential to plan the public areas of a terminal with scant regard to formulating a coherent brief for its retail and food & beverage content. The retail space then becomes dictated by the layout of service rooms and often non-passenger related items, the end result of which can be irregular shaped retail outlets with less than ideal frontages.
Dubai Duty Free has always been fortunate in having a very close partnership with Dubai International Airport operator, Dubai Airports Company, both being sister organisations under the umbrella of the Government of Dubai. This means that a dialogue can start very early in the development process and a more balanced approach to commercial development can be adopted.
For example in the case of T3’s Concourse 2, an area adjacent to the entrance was originally planned as a children’s play area. However, as the result of a combined workshop, this was redesignated as the now highly successful ‘Gifts from Dubai’ retail outlet that now greets passengers as they enter the departures concourse.
The design of the concourse building is challenging in itself, and while its long thin configuration is ideal for the parking of aircraft, at 900 metres in length, it presents a number of challenges from a retail point of view. The allocated area for retail is itself 550m long, which means that many passengers are unlikely to be able to experience the whole offer in a single visit.
Therefore, careful consideration had to be given to the space allocation and adjacencies for the various categories that make up the overall Dubai Duty Free offer. Building on the experience of Concourse 1 (opened in 2000), Dubai Duty Free had a very clear brief for Terminal 3, which was seen as an opportunity to evolve the established offer and adapt to changing passenger demands.
For example, as Emirates has a very large proportion of transit passengers, many of those passing through the airport will have never set foot in Dubai itself.
The Duty Free is therefore an integral and important part of the Dubai experience for these passengers and needs to convey the unique selling points of Dubai – modernity, value and service with a high degree of glitz!
The development of the retail concepts and their designs were driven by several key points set out by Dubai Duty Free early in the design process and were based on these six statements:
• Create a signature destination offer near the entrance to the departures level to signpost Dubai Duty Free
• Locate key categories to maximise their exposure to all passengers
• Integrate vendor identities and features within the umbrella Dubai Duty Free branded environment
• Create hotspots along the length of the retail boulevard
• Optimise the use of technology and visual communication
• Optimise the time that the passenger has to shop
In terms of creating a signature destination, there was a strong desire to develop an offering with a strong Arabian theme that would differentiate the offer as ‘distinctly Dubai’. The result is a retail outlet that evokes a sense of ‘souk’ using appropriate materials, merchandising methods and lighting.
With regards to maximising the exposure of DDF’s key categories to all passengers, careful consideration was given to the location of perfume & cosmetics, liquor & tobacco and luxury goods (watches and gold) as these outlets have the widest customer appeal regardless of the type of travel, be it departures, transit, premium class.
These outlets were strategically located to be visible to all passengers and in particular, first class and business travellers. Liquor & tobacco (the largest category by volume) was also duplicated in both the East and West wing of the Concourse, ensuring easy accessibility of all passengers.
The planning strategy that evolved as a result of workshops with the Dubai Duty Free team was a sequence of zones along the length of the Concourse.
The ‘Landing Zone' at the entrance to the concourse includesthe 'Gifts from Dubai' offer; the Customer Service counter; thelegendary 'Finest Surprise' and the 'Millennium Millionaire' display. It also includes product promotion areas that will change on a weekly or monthly basis.
The 'Luxury Zone' - adjacent to the entrance to the concourse – combines gold & jewellery, perfume & cosmetics and watches, while the 'Lifestyle Zone' primarily features fashion and technology.
This is a very brand driven area with the facility to introduce shortterm promotions to create a sense of excitement and newness.
In line with its brief to integrate vendor identities within the umbrella Dubai Duty Free branded environment, over 250 individual customised units were incorporated within the retail outlets. Ranging from a simple gondola to complete retail environments (such as Emirates Merchandise and several fashion houses), Dubai Duty Free encouraged vendors to create highly visible and innovative units.
The challenge here is to balance the myriad of competing identities (which could potentially overpower the environment and confuse the shopper), with the desire to maintain a strong and consistent Dubai Duty Free identity throughout.
The idea to create hotspots along the length of T3’s ‘retail boulevard’ was designed to enable Dubai Duty Free to showcase different brands and product offerings and to regularly change the content of these units.
A series of modular merchandising units was created for this purpose, allowing a high degree of display flexibility and graphic communication. In fulfilling the brief to optimise the use of technology and visual communication, the decision was made to equip T3 with a range of innovative features in the high circulation areas.
These include the 22 metre long LED high resolution screen in front of the Sky Train exit and the LCD monitors and LED panels (substitute for the classic light box) used throughout the retail units. Usedeffectively, moving images have proved to be very effective in attracting attention and enticing passengers into the shops.
Clearly, the retail scenario of a shopping mall or department store is very different to that of a travel retail market, so meeting the criterion of ‘optimising the time that the passenger has to shop’ was a tough challenge. Of course, travelling is stressful, which means that many passengers either don’t want to shop or just don't have the time to shop at an airport.
In the case of Dubai Duty Free, special attention was paid to enabling easy access and circulation within the retail area. To achieve this objective, the following design criteria were adopted:
• Shop fronts are completely open to encourage passengers to cross the threshold, thereby maximising throughput to the shop units
• Clear communication of what is on offer in each unit without depending upon signage. This has been achieved though brand visibility and product presentation
• Freestanding merchandise fixturing is limited in height to 1.45 metres to allow visibility through the retail space and across the back wall when viewed from the walkway
• Customised ‘check-out’ style cash units have been designed for the high volume outlets (liquor and tobacco; food and confectionery)
The design of ‘check-out’ style cash units is based on the findings of extensive research carried out in conjunction with NCR (a leading manufacture of point of sale equipment) and has reduced transaction times by up to 50%.
“Create a real sense of retail theatre” is one of the favourite sayings of DDF’s managing director, Colm McLoughlin, and his desire for T3 to be a standout facility also proved an inspiration to designers when planning the building’s retail layout.
He wanted T3’s duty free environment to excite, inspire and take Dubai Duty Free to a new level as a shopping environment. If the positive reaction of the first passengers to use the facility is anything to go by, he may have achieved his goal.
Without question, it is the interplay of merchandise, salespeople and shoppers that creates the buzz of excitement that is so essential to the Dubai experience. And in terms of their appropriateness to each of the individual outlets and their retail offer, the effects of lighting, display features, colours and materials were certainly a major consideration for the airport authority.
For example, the gold shop has extensive use of black and gold within the decoration combined with extensive fibre-optic lighting and a rare amethyst sculpture as an entrance showcase display.
This combination serves to elevate the perception of the product whilst the counter arrangement helps to separate the various categories of jewellery on offer. The result is that clarity of the offer is provided in an opulent environment, thereby facilitating a comfortable and enjoyable shopping experience.
Ultimately, any retail design is largely determined by the objectives and contribution of the client. Fortunately, in the case of Dubai Duty Free, there is an overriding passion for people (both staff and shoppers), product and place.
ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS/JANUARY-MARCH 2009
For a retail organisation turning over more than a billion dollars a year from a single location, the planning and design of Dubai Duty Free's (DDF) outlets is high on the list of critical success factors.
The award winning operator of the key tax-free facilities at Dubai International Airport quite literally demands that its stores are outstanding in terms of their location, appearance and sale merchandise.
When you take into account that Terminal 3 is the new home base of Dubai national flag carrier, Emirates, perhaps the best expression to sum up what DDF wanted was the ‘wow factor’.
Its requirements and the sheer size of the retail area involved – 6,000sqm of space on the departures level within Concourse 2, a further 2,000sqm at arrivals and 800sqm landside – ensured that planning its creation was no ordinary project. Indeed, the new T3 provides a fascinating case study of retail development on a large scale.
The planning process began back in 2004 and involved three key stages – master planning to define the layout, conceptualisation to develop the offer and design development to turn the concepts into shops.
The first of these stages involved a high level of co-operation between landlord and tenant (or in this case airport operator and Dubai Duty Free), which unfortunately, is not common practice today.
In fact, all too often, airport authorities allow infrastructure architects with no experience of a gateway’s commercial potential to plan the public areas of a terminal with scant regard to formulating a coherent brief for its retail and food & beverage content. The retail space then becomes dictated by the layout of service rooms and often non-passenger related items, the end result of which can be irregular shaped retail outlets with less than ideal frontages.
Dubai Duty Free has always been fortunate in having a very close partnership with Dubai International Airport operator, Dubai Airports Company, both being sister organisations under the umbrella of the Government of Dubai. This means that a dialogue can start very early in the development process and a more balanced approach to commercial development can be adopted.
For example in the case of T3’s Concourse 2, an area adjacent to the entrance was originally planned as a children’s play area. However, as the result of a combined workshop, this was redesignated as the now highly successful ‘Gifts from Dubai’ retail outlet that now greets passengers as they enter the departures concourse.
The design of the concourse building is challenging in itself, and while its long thin configuration is ideal for the parking of aircraft, at 900 metres in length, it presents a number of challenges from a retail point of view. The allocated area for retail is itself 550m long, which means that many passengers are unlikely to be able to experience the whole offer in a single visit.
Therefore, careful consideration had to be given to the space allocation and adjacencies for the various categories that make up the overall Dubai Duty Free offer. Building on the experience of Concourse 1 (opened in 2000), Dubai Duty Free had a very clear brief for Terminal 3, which was seen as an opportunity to evolve the established offer and adapt to changing passenger demands.
For example, as Emirates has a very large proportion of transit passengers, many of those passing through the airport will have never set foot in Dubai itself.
The Duty Free is therefore an integral and important part of the Dubai experience for these passengers and needs to convey the unique selling points of Dubai – modernity, value and service with a high degree of glitz!
The development of the retail concepts and their designs were driven by several key points set out by Dubai Duty Free early in the design process and were based on these six statements:
• Create a signature destination offer near the entrance to the departures level to signpost Dubai Duty Free
• Locate key categories to maximise their exposure to all passengers
• Integrate vendor identities and features within the umbrella Dubai Duty Free branded environment
• Create hotspots along the length of the retail boulevard
• Optimise the use of technology and visual communication
• Optimise the time that the passenger has to shop
In terms of creating a signature destination, there was a strong desire to develop an offering with a strong Arabian theme that would differentiate the offer as ‘distinctly Dubai’. The result is a retail outlet that evokes a sense of ‘souk’ using appropriate materials, merchandising methods and lighting.
With regards to maximising the exposure of DDF’s key categories to all passengers, careful consideration was given to the location of perfume & cosmetics, liquor & tobacco and luxury goods (watches and gold) as these outlets have the widest customer appeal regardless of the type of travel, be it departures, transit, premium class.
These outlets were strategically located to be visible to all passengers and in particular, first class and business travellers. Liquor & tobacco (the largest category by volume) was also duplicated in both the East and West wing of the Concourse, ensuring easy accessibility of all passengers.
The planning strategy that evolved as a result of workshops with the Dubai Duty Free team was a sequence of zones along the length of the Concourse.
The ‘Landing Zone' at the entrance to the concourse includesthe 'Gifts from Dubai' offer; the Customer Service counter; thelegendary 'Finest Surprise' and the 'Millennium Millionaire' display. It also includes product promotion areas that will change on a weekly or monthly basis.
The 'Luxury Zone' - adjacent to the entrance to the concourse – combines gold & jewellery, perfume & cosmetics and watches, while the 'Lifestyle Zone' primarily features fashion and technology.
This is a very brand driven area with the facility to introduce shortterm promotions to create a sense of excitement and newness.
In line with its brief to integrate vendor identities within the umbrella Dubai Duty Free branded environment, over 250 individual customised units were incorporated within the retail outlets. Ranging from a simple gondola to complete retail environments (such as Emirates Merchandise and several fashion houses), Dubai Duty Free encouraged vendors to create highly visible and innovative units.
The challenge here is to balance the myriad of competing identities (which could potentially overpower the environment and confuse the shopper), with the desire to maintain a strong and consistent Dubai Duty Free identity throughout.
The idea to create hotspots along the length of T3’s ‘retail boulevard’ was designed to enable Dubai Duty Free to showcase different brands and product offerings and to regularly change the content of these units.
A series of modular merchandising units was created for this purpose, allowing a high degree of display flexibility and graphic communication. In fulfilling the brief to optimise the use of technology and visual communication, the decision was made to equip T3 with a range of innovative features in the high circulation areas.
These include the 22 metre long LED high resolution screen in front of the Sky Train exit and the LCD monitors and LED panels (substitute for the classic light box) used throughout the retail units. Usedeffectively, moving images have proved to be very effective in attracting attention and enticing passengers into the shops.
Clearly, the retail scenario of a shopping mall or department store is very different to that of a travel retail market, so meeting the criterion of ‘optimising the time that the passenger has to shop’ was a tough challenge. Of course, travelling is stressful, which means that many passengers either don’t want to shop or just don't have the time to shop at an airport.
In the case of Dubai Duty Free, special attention was paid to enabling easy access and circulation within the retail area. To achieve this objective, the following design criteria were adopted:
• Shop fronts are completely open to encourage passengers to cross the threshold, thereby maximising throughput to the shop units
• Clear communication of what is on offer in each unit without depending upon signage. This has been achieved though brand visibility and product presentation
• Freestanding merchandise fixturing is limited in height to 1.45 metres to allow visibility through the retail space and across the back wall when viewed from the walkway
• Customised ‘check-out’ style cash units have been designed for the high volume outlets (liquor and tobacco; food and confectionery)
The design of ‘check-out’ style cash units is based on the findings of extensive research carried out in conjunction with NCR (a leading manufacture of point of sale equipment) and has reduced transaction times by up to 50%.
“Create a real sense of retail theatre” is one of the favourite sayings of DDF’s managing director, Colm McLoughlin, and his desire for T3 to be a standout facility also proved an inspiration to designers when planning the building’s retail layout.
He wanted T3’s duty free environment to excite, inspire and take Dubai Duty Free to a new level as a shopping environment. If the positive reaction of the first passengers to use the facility is anything to go by, he may have achieved his goal.
Without question, it is the interplay of merchandise, salespeople and shoppers that creates the buzz of excitement that is so essential to the Dubai experience. And in terms of their appropriateness to each of the individual outlets and their retail offer, the effects of lighting, display features, colours and materials were certainly a major consideration for the airport authority.
For example, the gold shop has extensive use of black and gold within the decoration combined with extensive fibre-optic lighting and a rare amethyst sculpture as an entrance showcase display.
This combination serves to elevate the perception of the product whilst the counter arrangement helps to separate the various categories of jewellery on offer. The result is that clarity of the offer is provided in an opulent environment, thereby facilitating a comfortable and enjoyable shopping experience.
Ultimately, any retail design is largely determined by the objectives and contribution of the client. Fortunately, in the case of Dubai Duty Free, there is an overriding passion for people (both staff and shoppers), product and place.
ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS/JANUARY-MARCH 2009
Published in
2009 Issue 1
Saturday, 25 October 2008 15:42
Grand designs
Asia-Pacific Airports takes a closer look at Beijing Capital International Airport’s impressive new Terminal 3.
Indeed such is the impression that it has made on the travelling public that a quick trawl of the Internet found a host of websites about it where users can leave their opinions and comments.
Below are a selection of comments found at one such site (http://www.airlinequality.com/Airports/Airport_forum/pek.htm):
“Beijing's new T3 is a breeze of fresh air, very bright, new, modern and nicely presented. With loads of seating and shops and places to eat.”
“Went through T3, and was quite impressed. Very large and clean. Customs agents were friendly and actually smiled! You could even leave feedback regarding the custom agent by pressing on a box at the desk. Truly an upgrade.”
“Recently went through new T3 at PEK. Very impressive, huge building. Immigration staff are friendly. Luggage arrived so quick, I was really impressed. Airport staff are helpful. New lounge for oneworld flights is great! Great range of food, internet and everything. All in all, Beijing airport is very good. Definitely would like to go through PEK again.”
“Very impressive building and very easy to clear through all check in and security checks in no time. After check-in, there was a large variety of shops and bigger array of food outlets that were very reasonably priced for an airport. Reclining seats at the gate lounges were very nice and had fun enjoying the immense size of the building. Watching the train run internally from one end off to the distant International end of the terminal was also fun to watch in this gargantuan place.”
In practical terms, Terminal 3 has a total floor area of 986,000sqm and comes equipped with 73 gates, 330 check-in desks and the capacity to handle 43mppa.
It is grand on the grandest scale.
Aisa-Pacific Airports 2008 Issue 3
Published in
2010 Issue 1
Monday, 18 August 2008 09:22
Delhi delight
Asia-Pacific Airports magazine discovers more about the design concepts behind Indira Gandhi International Airport’s planned new Terminal 3.
Located south of today’s passenger facilities, the new Terminal 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will finally equip the gateway with a state-of-the-art complex befitting the Indian capital.
The complex, which will serve as the airport’s new showpiece international terminal, is scheduled to open a few months before Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
It is the key project of the airport’s $1.2 billion redevelopment programme and, perhaps not surprisingly, the company responsible for the terminal’s design, HOK Architects, is promising the delivery of a world-class facility.
HOK senior associate, Nicola Morton, enthuses: “The design for the new terminal is both modern and striking. It will help secure Delhi’s position on the world stage, reflect the country’s dynamic aspirations and strengthen the city’s position as a major cultural and commercial hub.”
In practical terms, the 450,000sqm terminal will more than double the gateway’s capacity from today’s 15mppa to 37mppa, and with future expansion and the addition of other new facilities could ultimately ensure that the airport is capable of handling up to 100mppa.
A potential capacity of 100 million passengers per annum would certainly make Indira Gandhi International Airport one of the biggest airports in Asia.
The A380-friendly terminal will have separate levels for handling departing and arriving passengers and boast up to 75 airbridges, 160 check-in desks and 30 remote parking bays.
Key to the design is easy pedestrian access and flow with simple and direct access to all gates.
A further design consideration was to ensure an “enhanced passenger experience” by creating a large bright central open space designed to be both striking and dynamic for all visitors to the airport.
As a result, Terminal 3 will have a large open atrium that HOK firmly believes will provide a memorable experience for both arriving and departing passengers.
Says Morton: “Very early on in the project, the design team decided to create a memorable space for arriving passengers as typically they are the ones that miss out on the views at airports.
“Let me explain. When you depart from an airport, your experience is usually very pleasant – a large bright departure lounge with extensive retail and panoramic views of the airfield and aircraft. However, when you arrive, you are generally directed straight through to baggage reclaim and then to the landside concourse.
“At Delhi T3 passengers will experience a terminal that maximises the use of natural light and gives a feeling of openness for all passengers regardless of where they are in the building. We hope that the arrivals space in particular will provide a memorable welcome to India.”
The sense of space will be further enhanced by a distinct roof that is specifically designed to maximise the amount of light filtered in to the building at the same time as helping control inside temperatures. Roof materials will also contribute significantly to the reduction of heat gain while north facing glazing minimises solar gain. They will be supported by local air handling units and automatic building management systems that will ensure the appropriate level of environmental control.
Explains Morton: “The roof essentially folds in different directions allowing light to penetrate into the building. At the same time we had to prevent unwanted sunlight that would increase the thermal gain and amplify the pressure on the terminal’s cooling system. The ‘folded roof’ concept is quite unusual as many airports still tend to use an aerofoil roof design. However this concept gave us the quality of light and space we were looking for.”
The airport’s master plan developed by Mott MacDonald required that the design of T3 incorporated swing gates that could be used for either international or domestic arrivals/departures. The concept enabled the design team to minimise the number of gates needed while maximising the number of aircraft that can use the airport.
Terminal 3 will also be different as the building is set to provide an “unusually generous” amount of sheltered areas for passengers outside both the check-in hall and the arrivals concourse.
This is in response to the large number of well-wishers and meeters and greeters that visit Indira Gandhi International Airport and indeed all other major gateways in India.
Delhi’s new state-of-the-art terminal is being designed to accommodate a high proportion of retail outlets, the majority of which will be concentrated in the departures lounge and at a large retail village planned for the facility’s forecourt.
The airport’s new terminal will also have a small transit hotel capable of accommodating up to 60 guests.
Security has not been forgotten in the building’s design as T3 will have a large central security checkpoint after check-in and another one located at the entrance to the main concourse.
The terminal’s reinforced concrete base and lightweight steel frame structure supporting a modular steel roof is designed to withstand seismic shock.
Terminal 3 will have its own high-speed metro link that makes it possible to reach downtown Delhi within half an hour. It will also be served by new road infrastructure to help ease traffic congestion.
All foreign legacy carriers serving Delhi will relocate to the terminal when it opens in 2010. They include Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Emirates. Air India will also operate out of the showpiece facility.
HOK has considerable experience in airport planning and design projects around the world that include Indianapolis International Airport’s soon-to-be completed $1 billion Midfield Terminal and the expansion of Bahrain International Airport.
In partnership with Jacobs, HOK also designed the newlyopened terminal at Cork International Airport and was responsible for the transport interchange at London Heathrow’s €5.5 billion Terminal 5. It counts Boston Logan, Honolulu and Washington Dulles among its US clients.
In addition to HOK, other companies involved in the T3 project include Mott MacDonald as lead consultant responsible for the airport’s overall master plan and engineering, and Pell Frischmann, which is part of the team providing engineering and cost consultancy.
HOK, responsible for providing architectural design and planning for the terminal and a number of support buildings, took less than a year to complete its work allowing for construction of T3 to start in early 2007.
It will be built in two phases over 39 months in readiness for completion in March 2010, the carefully timed schedule is designed to ensure the minimum of disruption to passengers and aircraft operations.
Other major projects of Delhi’s ongoing $1.2 billion master plan include the renovation and expansion of the airport’s existing terminals and the construction of a new runway, cargo centre and general aviation facility.
Support infrastructure will include the construction of a new car park, additional fire rescue stations, a crisis management centre and an airport maintenance hub.
“The sense of excitement about this project in Delhi has become quite infectious,” enthuses Morton. “Delhi’s thriving community wants their city to become a destination of choice for the international business community and sees the renovation and expansion of its airport as a major factor in helping to propel Delhi onto the world stage.”
Asia-Pacific Airports 2008 Issue 2
Located south of today’s passenger facilities, the new Terminal 3 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will finally equip the gateway with a state-of-the-art complex befitting the Indian capital.
The complex, which will serve as the airport’s new showpiece international terminal, is scheduled to open a few months before Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
It is the key project of the airport’s $1.2 billion redevelopment programme and, perhaps not surprisingly, the company responsible for the terminal’s design, HOK Architects, is promising the delivery of a world-class facility.
HOK senior associate, Nicola Morton, enthuses: “The design for the new terminal is both modern and striking. It will help secure Delhi’s position on the world stage, reflect the country’s dynamic aspirations and strengthen the city’s position as a major cultural and commercial hub.”
In practical terms, the 450,000sqm terminal will more than double the gateway’s capacity from today’s 15mppa to 37mppa, and with future expansion and the addition of other new facilities could ultimately ensure that the airport is capable of handling up to 100mppa.
A potential capacity of 100 million passengers per annum would certainly make Indira Gandhi International Airport one of the biggest airports in Asia.
The A380-friendly terminal will have separate levels for handling departing and arriving passengers and boast up to 75 airbridges, 160 check-in desks and 30 remote parking bays.
Key to the design is easy pedestrian access and flow with simple and direct access to all gates.
A further design consideration was to ensure an “enhanced passenger experience” by creating a large bright central open space designed to be both striking and dynamic for all visitors to the airport.
As a result, Terminal 3 will have a large open atrium that HOK firmly believes will provide a memorable experience for both arriving and departing passengers.
Says Morton: “Very early on in the project, the design team decided to create a memorable space for arriving passengers as typically they are the ones that miss out on the views at airports.
“Let me explain. When you depart from an airport, your experience is usually very pleasant – a large bright departure lounge with extensive retail and panoramic views of the airfield and aircraft. However, when you arrive, you are generally directed straight through to baggage reclaim and then to the landside concourse.
“At Delhi T3 passengers will experience a terminal that maximises the use of natural light and gives a feeling of openness for all passengers regardless of where they are in the building. We hope that the arrivals space in particular will provide a memorable welcome to India.”
The sense of space will be further enhanced by a distinct roof that is specifically designed to maximise the amount of light filtered in to the building at the same time as helping control inside temperatures. Roof materials will also contribute significantly to the reduction of heat gain while north facing glazing minimises solar gain. They will be supported by local air handling units and automatic building management systems that will ensure the appropriate level of environmental control.
Explains Morton: “The roof essentially folds in different directions allowing light to penetrate into the building. At the same time we had to prevent unwanted sunlight that would increase the thermal gain and amplify the pressure on the terminal’s cooling system. The ‘folded roof’ concept is quite unusual as many airports still tend to use an aerofoil roof design. However this concept gave us the quality of light and space we were looking for.”
The airport’s master plan developed by Mott MacDonald required that the design of T3 incorporated swing gates that could be used for either international or domestic arrivals/departures. The concept enabled the design team to minimise the number of gates needed while maximising the number of aircraft that can use the airport.
Terminal 3 will also be different as the building is set to provide an “unusually generous” amount of sheltered areas for passengers outside both the check-in hall and the arrivals concourse.
This is in response to the large number of well-wishers and meeters and greeters that visit Indira Gandhi International Airport and indeed all other major gateways in India.
Delhi’s new state-of-the-art terminal is being designed to accommodate a high proportion of retail outlets, the majority of which will be concentrated in the departures lounge and at a large retail village planned for the facility’s forecourt.
The airport’s new terminal will also have a small transit hotel capable of accommodating up to 60 guests.
Security has not been forgotten in the building’s design as T3 will have a large central security checkpoint after check-in and another one located at the entrance to the main concourse.
The terminal’s reinforced concrete base and lightweight steel frame structure supporting a modular steel roof is designed to withstand seismic shock.
Terminal 3 will have its own high-speed metro link that makes it possible to reach downtown Delhi within half an hour. It will also be served by new road infrastructure to help ease traffic congestion.
All foreign legacy carriers serving Delhi will relocate to the terminal when it opens in 2010. They include Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Emirates. Air India will also operate out of the showpiece facility.
HOK has considerable experience in airport planning and design projects around the world that include Indianapolis International Airport’s soon-to-be completed $1 billion Midfield Terminal and the expansion of Bahrain International Airport.
In partnership with Jacobs, HOK also designed the newlyopened terminal at Cork International Airport and was responsible for the transport interchange at London Heathrow’s €5.5 billion Terminal 5. It counts Boston Logan, Honolulu and Washington Dulles among its US clients.
In addition to HOK, other companies involved in the T3 project include Mott MacDonald as lead consultant responsible for the airport’s overall master plan and engineering, and Pell Frischmann, which is part of the team providing engineering and cost consultancy.
HOK, responsible for providing architectural design and planning for the terminal and a number of support buildings, took less than a year to complete its work allowing for construction of T3 to start in early 2007.
It will be built in two phases over 39 months in readiness for completion in March 2010, the carefully timed schedule is designed to ensure the minimum of disruption to passengers and aircraft operations.
Other major projects of Delhi’s ongoing $1.2 billion master plan include the renovation and expansion of the airport’s existing terminals and the construction of a new runway, cargo centre and general aviation facility.
Support infrastructure will include the construction of a new car park, additional fire rescue stations, a crisis management centre and an airport maintenance hub.
“The sense of excitement about this project in Delhi has become quite infectious,” enthuses Morton. “Delhi’s thriving community wants their city to become a destination of choice for the international business community and sees the renovation and expansion of its airport as a major factor in helping to propel Delhi onto the world stage.”
IT partner
India’s airports appear to have found themselves an IT partner in UFIS Airport Solutions (UFIS-AS), which has successfully worked on key projects at Delhi International Airport and the newly opened gateways at Bangalore and Hyderabad.
UFIS-AS and partner, Siemens Information Systems Limited (SISL), have delivered a host of IT solutions to the airports ranging from system integration services to the provision of airport databases and FIDS and apron management systems.
In the case of Delhi, its work projects included introduction of WebFIDS, an HTML flight information display system that allows data to be managed from both central locations at the airport or from remote locations by PCs running Windows or Linux as the display controller.
An add-on to the installation in Bangalore was a link between the Airport Operational Database (AODB) and the airport’s web portal, providing up-to-the-minute flight information to the website.
“We are very happy to be moving into India as it is one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” enthuses UFIS-AS’s president and CEO Anders Sagadin. “We are confident that our state-of-the-art IT solutions and services will help ensure the future growth of India’s airport business and overall economy.”
India’s airports appear to have found themselves an IT partner in UFIS Airport Solutions (UFIS-AS), which has successfully worked on key projects at Delhi International Airport and the newly opened gateways at Bangalore and Hyderabad.
UFIS-AS and partner, Siemens Information Systems Limited (SISL), have delivered a host of IT solutions to the airports ranging from system integration services to the provision of airport databases and FIDS and apron management systems.
In the case of Delhi, its work projects included introduction of WebFIDS, an HTML flight information display system that allows data to be managed from both central locations at the airport or from remote locations by PCs running Windows or Linux as the display controller.
An add-on to the installation in Bangalore was a link between the Airport Operational Database (AODB) and the airport’s web portal, providing up-to-the-minute flight information to the website.
“We are very happy to be moving into India as it is one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” enthuses UFIS-AS’s president and CEO Anders Sagadin. “We are confident that our state-of-the-art IT solutions and services will help ensure the future growth of India’s airport business and overall economy.”
Asia-Pacific Airports 2008 Issue 2
Published in
2011 Issue 1
Thursday, 01 November 2007 08:38
Way of the dragon
Edward Russell discovers more about Beijing Capital International Airport’s new Terminal 3.
If London Stansted and Hong Kong have provided some lessons from the past, Beijing Capital International Airport’s giant new Terminal 3 project is a further step towards the airport of the future.
These are the words of Lord Norman Foster, the man responsible for designing the impressive new dragon-themed terminal that has been built for less than half the $7 billion cost of London Heathrow’s Terminal 5, despite being about twice its size.
“Nearly two-and-a-half times the area of Hong Kong International, its physical size is unprecedented. It is simply the largest airport building ever constructed,” enthuses Lord Foster, founder and chairman of T3 designers, Foster+Partners.
Continues Lord Foster: “Rather than the sprawl of many separate buildings, this is essentially a compact terminal, using less land and bringing everything closer together for ease of communication. This move to a more sustainable model is a vital trend for future airport design, as the aircraft they serve eventually become cleaner, safer and use less energy.”
It is not unusual, of course, for the designer of a terminal to wax lyrical about his creation. But even by Lord Foster’s standards – he also designed the terminals at Hong Kong International and London Stansted – the complex, due for completion in December and set to open in May 2008, is something special.
Boasting 817,888sqm of floor space – the figure ‘8’ is a symbol of good fortune in China – Terminal 3 will raise the gateway’s capacity to 80mppa in time for the 2008 Olympics in the Beijing. The event is expected to bring a record number of visitors to the city.
And its 73 gates, 330 check-in desks and 43mppa capacity are certainly going to be needed as Beijing Capital is already the ninth busiest airport in the world for passenger traffic.
A total of 48.6 million passengers passed through the airport’s two terminals in 2006 and as recently as August the airport’s dual runways handled over 1,100 daily flights.
However, airfield congestion at the gateway is expected to be eased by the planned October 2007 opening of Beijing Capital’s third runway as part of the airport’s development programme. Located to the east of Terminal 3, the third runway was needed to improve safety and ease the congestion that forced the Civil Aviation Administration of China to cancel 336 flights at the gateway in August.
Members of Beijing Capital’s expansion project team believe that passengers will be “moved” and “shocked” by the sheer size of Terminal 3 and by how easy and convenient it will be to use.
Their enthusiasm is shared by Foster+Partner’s Beijing-based representative, Brian Timmoney. “Terminal 3 is the gateway to China and, upon arrival, the passenger realises that they could only be in Beijing,” he says. “We looked to traditional Chinese architecture for inspiration and very consciously wanted the building to be rooted in its place.
“One of the key characteristics of Chinese architecture is the use of strong colours – the roof structure of Terminal 3 transforms from red to gold as you move through the complex.”
According to Foster+Partners, the design of Beijing’s T3 is all about China. Its shape said to be provocative of a dragon while the signature triangular roof tiles are reportedly “reminiscent of a dragon’s scales”.
The facility’s red and yellow colours are taken from Beijing’s Forbidden City and their high regard in Chinese culture. Indeed, the terminal adds a local flair with a number of Suzhou-styled gardens and copies of traditional Chinese paintings scattered throughout the building.
In line with the ‘green’ 2008 Olympics, T3 is designed to be extremely energy efficient. In order to keep the environmental footprint as small as possible, all materials and contractors, with the exception of Bombardier’s Airport People Mover (APM) and Siemens baggage system, are Chinese sourced or owned.
Terminal 3’s roof includes south-facing triangular roof tiles that capture the daylight, and Foster+Partners has adapted the concept of a ‘green roof’ for the outside of the Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) and the landscaped open-trench of the APM.
Adds Lord Foster: “In terms of pace, it will have been designed, built and commissioned within a mere four-year period. Contrast this with the four-year public inquiry into Heathrow's Terminal 5. Almost evertything in this building has been made in China at a scale and quality that is awesome.
“Some commentators have remarked that the speed of construction has only been achievable by the ability to muster a workforce of up to 50,000 at times of peak activity. This is misleading because the achievement is more about the intelligent deployment, management and organisation of resources than the quantity of those resources. This is a building also borne of its context. It communicates a uniquely Chinese sense of place and will be a true gateway to the nation.
“Beijing also moves the dialogue between scale and clarity to another level. The curve of its diagram reinforces the clarity of movement from landside to airside by drawing you through the building and offering panoramic views of the aircraft beyond. When you arrive at the forecourt, you can immediately see through to the action of the runways.”
The construction site itself is landscaped, neat and green – a departure from so many other dusty construction sites in Beijing.
According to Timmoney, Foster+Partners’ past innovations at both London Stansted and Hong Kong provided the firm with the knowledge of how to make T3 the culmination of “a long generation of ideas that have been developed over the past 25-years”.
These ideas include the transfer of all airport services and mechanical equipment from the roof to the building’s basement to ensure the flow of natural light into the public areas of the terminal.
The facility’s lightweight and unencumbered roof, together with its glass walled façade, were specifically designed to give passengers a sense of transparency and connection to the outside world. In a world with numerous security restrictions and overcrowded planes, a terminal with views is one small way to make flying more pleasant and less stressful.
Improving the passenger experience is one of the gateway’s top priorities, according to members of Beijing Capital’s expansion project team. “The building will create a very good impression and generate good feelings for passengers” is a typical comment.
Built to international standards, Beijing Capital is already working hard training staff and testing new systems in readiness for T3’s May 2008 opening.
“From the moment they enter the terminal, passenger movement is reinforced by the form and detail of the buildings with only minimum level changes, which all are in the direction of passenger flow,” says Timmoney.
In the international section of the terminal, Foster+Partners has literally flipped the airport experience with the arriving passengers above those departing, allowing travellers direct views of the magnificently curving roof, as well as through the glass walls surrounding them.
Approaching the terminal from landside you will either arrive via an impressive new expressway or on the new airport express train, which stops at a cathedral-like train station in the Ground Transportation Centre. When inside the complex, a two-minute APM ride will transport international passengers between the complex and its international satellite.
Construction on T3 is set to finish in December, with testing beginning in February ahead of its May 2008 opening – three months before the Olympics.
Its opening will, of course, be preceded by the biggest ever shuffling around of airlines at the gateway, with Air China and most international airlines relocating to the new state-of-the-art facility. Elsewhere China Eastern and China Southern along with their alliance partners will use Terminal 2 and the rest of China’s domestic airlines will base themselves in Terminal 1.
When T3 opens for business, Beijing Capital will be near its annual design capacity of 80 million passengers, but such is the anticipated future demand for air travel in China that the government is already thinking about building a second international airport for the city.
Though specifics are not yet known, Beijing’s second airport will probably be built in the southern suburbs of the capital between 2010-2015 and designed to accommodate up to 50mppa.
Whatever the future brings, there is no disputing the fact that Terminal 3 will change the face of Beijing Capital forever, and that the 66 million passengers expected to use the airport in 2008 will catapult it from ninth to the fourth busiest airport in the world.
Asia-Pacific Airports 2007 Issue 1
Published in
2010 Issue 1