Sumit Singhal Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.
Kuwait International Airport by Foster + Partners
January 12th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Foster + Partners
Kuwait International Airport is planned to significantly increase capacity and establish a new regional air hub in the Gulf – the project’s strategic aims will be matched by a state-of-the-art terminal building, which will provide the highest levels of comfort for passengers and will set a new environmental benchmark for airport buildings. Its design is rooted in a sense of place, responsive to the climate of one of the hottest inhabited environments on earth and inspired by local forms and materials.
Client: Ministry of Public works / Special Works Administration
Local collaborating architect: Gulf Consult
Airport Consultant: NACO
Engineering: Arup
Landscape Architect: Capita Lovejoy
Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon LLP
Traffic Consultant: Parsons Brinckerhoff
Foster + Partners team: Norman Foster, Stefan Behling, Nikolai Malsch, Morgan Fleming, Michael Gardner, Reinhard Joecks, Hugo D’Enjoy Ochoa, Abdelkader El-Chgar, Tillmann Lenz, Gordon Seiles, Gabriele Coccia, Paul Christian, Rie Hasloev, Dirk Jantz, Kristine Ngan
Kuwait Airport
General statistics –
First phase will accommodate 13 MAP (million annual passengers)
Flexibility to increase to 25 MAP and then to be further expanded and enable the Gulf’s new regional hub to serve up 50 MAP
Stand flexibility to accommodate between 30-51contact stands in first phase
Sufficient landside area to allow parking, GTC and high-end landside facilities such as offices and DGCA headquarters and hotels
60m span roof canopy
Minimised walking distance below 600m from centre to end points of terminal
The airport plan currently consists of two parallel runways (a 3rd runway is planned), two passenger terminal buildings, a heavy maintenance facility, cargo facility, fuel farm and the Al Mubarak Air Force Base for the Kuwait Air Force
Two transit hotels located airside.
Kuwait Airport
Site Area: The split of the total area into landside area will be approx 150 ha and approx 360 ha for the airside area.
Building Footprint: 140,000 m²
Building Height: Up to 39m
Number of Storeys: The terminal building has 4 levels above ground and one underground.
Program: Start on site 2012
Structure: The concrete shell roof structure consists of 78 perimeter and 12 internal structural bays.
Cladding: Typical Bay: 45m glass façade protected by canopy.
Kuwait Airport
Sustainability:
Striving to be the first passenger terminal in the world to attain LEED ‘gold’ status
The concrete structure provides thermal mass and the roof incorporates a large expanse of photovoltaic panels to harvest solar energy.
Kuwait Airport
Check in and baggage handling:
120 Check in desks for 13 MAP
180 Check in desks for 25 MAP
13 MAP baggage handling system will be able to handle a peak of 2,930 bags per hour
25 MAP baggage handling system will be able to handle a peak of 5,390 bags per hour
Approximately 6 km of baggage conveyors
Approximately 1.5 km of high speed baggage sorters
Integrated baggage system incorporating screening, dynamic storage and sorting.
Kuwait Airport
Links to the airport and parking –
The new terminal will have a new landside access sequence from the south as a new road connects from the King Faisal Motorway 51 and the 7th Ring Road
Plans are to establish a metro linking the airport to Kuwait City Centre.
Kuwait Airport
The terminal has a trefoil plan, comprising three symmetrical wings of departure gates. Each façade spans 1.2 kilometres and all extend from a dramatic 25-metre-high central space. The terminal balances the enclosure of this vast area with a design that is highly legible at a human scale – for simplicity and ease of use there are few level changes. To further aid orientation, the building is planned under a single roof canopy, punctuated by glazed openings that filter daylight, while deflecting direct solar radiation. The canopy extends to shade a generous entrance plaza and is supported by tapering concrete columns – their fluid, organic forms draw inspiration from the contrast between the solidity of the stone and the shape and movement of Kuwait’s traditional dhow sailing boats.
Kuwait Airport
The project targets LEED ‘gold’ – it aims to be the first passenger terminal in the world to attain this level of environmental accreditation. The concrete structure provides thermal mass and the roof incorporates a large expanse of photovoltaic panels to harvest solar energy. Foster + Partners has designed a flexible masterplan for the site, with the terminal strategically located to anticipate and enable future expansion. The airport will initially accommodate 13 million passengers per year, with the flexibility to increase to 25 million passengers and to accommodate 50 million passengers with further development.
Kuwait Airport
Mouzhan Majidi, Chief Executive of Foster + Partners, commented:
“The scale of the airport shows Kuwait’s great foresight in recognising the benefits of strategic investment in future infrastructure. The environmental ambitions driving the project are equally impressive. We are pleased to have this opportunity to reveal our designs. The emblematic three-winged form will be as memorable from the air as from the ground – a new symbol of contemporary Kuwait, which resonates with its rich culture and history.”
Kuwait Airport
Nikolai Malsch, a partner at Foster + Partners, said:
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Ministry of Public Works and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Kuwait on the planning and design of the new airport. We have established an excellent working relationship with our client – we have a shared goal to create a terminal that is an exemplar of sustainable design and will establish Kuwait as the region’s leading air hub.”
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