Tianjin Binhai International Airport

The ambitious expansion plan at Tianjin Binhai International Airport gave the design team—Dutch airport planner NACO and architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox International (KPF)—a particular challenge: how to design a series of major terminal buildings and associated infrastructure over decades without the airport looking like a series of temporary structures in the meantime.

The design brief outlined a multiphase expansion program: the initial phase is to increase the facility to serve six million passengers annually, due for completion in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. Subsequent phases will expand the facility to accommodate 40 million annual passengers over the following decades.

The client wanted each phase of terminal development to be a complete ensemble, capable of standing on its own as part of an international airport, rather than just a series of interdependent interim terminal facilities.

To this end, a three-terminal strategy was developed whereby each terminal was incrementally expandable, and, when combined, the three-terminal complex would comprise a central international facility straddled by two domestic terminals. The shape of each terminal module—triangular in form with lower wings on either side— would allow for an incremental expansion of the parts that would ultimately knit them together to create a cohesive whole.

KPF sought to integrate elements of local culture into terminal buildings and looked to the sky for inspiration. Tianjin is the birthplace of the kite, considered one of the first flying machines, and with the terminal, the designers looked to achieve the same lightness of structure as a kite.

The large, lightweight and translucent terminal roof soars above the departure level, from which the boarding gates flow out to resemble the kite’s long tails. Coloured sails within the structure—which can be changed to celebrate different seasons, festivals or special events— enliven the interior space and highlight the terminal’s entrance. Also, the whole aviation area replicates the shape of a Chinese fan, providing a recognisable cultural form and creating an efficient shape for transport and circulation that is modular and expandable. The radial nature of the design creates an efficient layout for parking and access, while the fluted mounds conceal the short-term parking decks.

The airport is accessed from a grand park to the upper departures level. The check-in area is housed under the brightly coloured, lightweight, translucent roof; access to the gates occurs with no changes in floor level. In line with the objective of flexibility, the piers expand and contract in response to the required functions: narrower sections house circulation spaces while wider sections accommodate waiting rooms.

Keeping circulation straightforward, arriving passengers move through the building on a lower level, enjoying airside views as they approach the double-heightvolume arrivals area below the check-in area. From here they can proceed directly to the kerbside pick-up. –Lily Wang