Design & construction
Left: An aerial render of how the Red Sea International Airport will look when it opens in 2030.
Opposite page: The airport will be the one entry point for over 50 luxury hotels, 11 of which have also been designed by Foster + Partners.
A ‘business-class plus’ experience Inspired by the soft, flowing forms of the surrounding desert landscape, the design aims to create a calm and luxurious journey for passengers. Its small scale and unique layout, divided into five smaller sub-terminals, will make the passenger experience more reminiscent of private aviation than commercial travel. Nicholas Cole, CEO of daa International, which will operate the airport, describes it as “business-class plus”.
Arriving passengers’ bags will be taken directly to the resort. After going through immigration, which will use smart technology to make the process as quick and smooth as possible, they will descend into a cooled landscape environment and walk to a welcome centre where they can explore the Red Sea experience through multi-media technology while waiting for their electric vehicles to the resort. “We would love to make the whole experience touchless, so there is no opportunity to stop,” Cole says. “There’s a way to go on that right now but we will certainly get there in the lifetime of the project.” Departing passengers will have a similarly seamless experience, enabled by technology. And while the details for the food and beverage offerings are still being defined, the current plan is to serve complimentary food and drink in an exclusive lounge in each mini terminal. A core objective of the airport is to reduce dwell time and as a result there will only be modest selections available.
From a design perspective, the five terminal pods resemble sand dunes, with the colours and textures of the roof reflecting the desert landscape and blending in with its surroundings. “The themes of the desert, with its oasis and wadi, are carried through in the design of the interiors and arrival garden, while the landscaping has been influenced by Arabian landscapes with a local selection of plants,” Evenden says. “Local materials and textures have been selected to give the design a sense of place. The airport also reflects the modernisation of Saudi Arabia by incorporating smart technologies and building systems.”
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
Sustainability initiatives
In keeping with the wider Red Sea Project, Foster + Partners has developed several key sustainable concepts for the Red Sea International Airport. The overall form of the terminal building has been designed to protect the internal environment from solar gain and therefore substantially reduce the overall energy demand for cooling in the building through self-shading. Daylight has also been considered, with most of the glazing facing the north, which allows for increased daylight penetration without compromising solar performance. The fact that the terminal is divided into five ‘mini terminals’, which can be operated independently or concurrently depending on demand, also reduces the overall energy demand of the building when compared with a standard centralised terminal approach. “During low season, some areas of the terminal do not need to be operated,” Evenden explains. In addition, the terminal uses landscaped and shaded interstitial spaces in order to reduce the heat island effect and increase the thermal comfort of passengers through an improved microclimate. “This has been achieved through a sophisticated thermal zoning approach to ensure a smooth transition for passengers from outdoor to indoor thermal comfort,” Evenden says.
Unlike most airports, the ancillary spaces for the Red Sea Airport, which include hangars and logistics facilities, are consolidated into two wings that flank either side of the main terminal building, according to Evenden. “This strategy reduces the overall envelope of the buildings when compared to the standard stand-alone ancillary building configuration and therefore reduces energy demand.”
A learning experience for all involved For the past four years, daa has been operating the domestic terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The company is also used to working at tourism-focused airports outside of the Middle East, such as Larnaca and Paphos Airports in Cyprus, which it is involved with as part of the Hermes Airport
1 million
Passengers will pass through the Red Sea International Airport each year.
Dezeen 100%
Of the energy used in the operation of the Red Sea International Airport will be renewable and provided by the Red Sea.
daa 45
Foster + Partners
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