Design & construction
atmosphere of an Indian market. Schnellmann makes a similar point, describing how the airport’s roof is designed to echo the region’s many streams and rivers. The aim, at any rate, is to promote what Bode calls the “rehumanisation” of air travel – something he equally argues can help airport operators make money, as guests feel relaxed and may even buy a souvenir of their experience.
And if all these innovations promise to bolster the passenger experience, Schnellmann is similarly keen to emphasise the environmental factors at play here. “At the airport’s terminal,” he says, “passive measures such as the use of natural lighting, natural ventilation, and glare protection will be planned, which will help improve passenger experience and reduce CO2
footprint and energy
costs.” A fair point: all those microclimates and courtyards drastically cut the need for both air-conditioning and light bulbs, a boon for any airport eager for a nod from LEED. That’s shadowed, too, by a comprehensive landscaping system, encompassing the planting of trees and flowers, which Schnellmann says will serve as the “lungs” for the whole 5,000-hectare site.
An international achievement Together with a plethora of digital goodies – staff will embrace paperless work even as passengers are promised hassle-free biometric checkpoints – and it’s easy to see why so many are excited about Noida. Aside from Narendra Modi’s visit, Indian politicians have queued up to praise it, while Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister has committed to building a skill development centre on land near the terminal. In a sense, just getting to this point is an achievement. As Bode and Schnellmann both
“The infrastructure is not so well developed. So they’re able to build more sustainable airports than other parts of the world where you’ve still got existing airports.”
Klaus Bode
Attempting to drag the passenger experience away from the soulless and generic motifs the industry’s become accustomed to, Bode hopes that what’s achieved here could yet influence airports the world over. “I would love it,” he says, adding that wherever a project is found, it only needs designers who are “sympathetic to architecture and not slaves to architecture”. That’s certainly true at Noida – even if a bhoomi pujan may not be appropriate everywhere. ●
admit, the international nature of the airport’s design – to say nothing of the travel restrictions imposed by Covid – meant that in-person development meetings were quickly replaced by vast communal Zoom sessions. In the end, however, everyone adapted to this new online reality, with Bode noting that most modern architectural plans are coded in ones and zeros anyway. Now, moreover, there are specific incentives to stay on course, with the local government threatening to slap a daily fine equivalent to over $12,000 in the event of any delay. Apart from the pain that lateness could cause the airport’s accountants, you have to hope that Noida International does indeed open soon.
70 million
The number of passengers each year that will eventually pass through Noida International Airport.
Noida International Airport
Use of natural lighting and ventilation in the airport helps to improve passenger experience.
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
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