Forest-inspired terminal with indoor waterfall planned for Bangkok Airport

DBALP — the architecture firm led by duangrit bunnag — has been selected to design a major new terminal building at bangkok’s suvarnabhumi airport. the scheme references thailand’s lush, vegetation-filled landscapes with a design that immerses passengers within a ‘forest’ environment. between the airport’s passenger and commercial buildings, the design team plans to construct a tropical setting that features a cascading waterfall.

The design comprises two modular structures, that measure 36×36 meters and 18×18 meters respectively. supported by distinctive wooden columns that appear as giant trees, these enclosures cover a total of 348,000 square meters. meanwhile, the indoor forest, which spans 16,132 square meters, is designed to be a ‘live demonstration of how human beings could inherit the natural tropical ecological system’.

Sorce: Design Boom

UPDATE: Winning airport design accused of plagiarizing Kengo Kuma’s Wooden Bridge Museum.

Duangrit Bunnag, the renowned local architect who won the bid to design Suvarnabhumi airport’s second terminal, has denied plagiarising the work of a Japanese architect.

«I didn’t copy anyone else’s work. Those who follow my work will know that I created a similar image in my previous designs, such as for a hotel in Sri Lanka,» Mr Duangrit told The Standard, a local online news portal.bangkokpost.com

Duangrit Bunnag’s firm DBALP Consortium, along with Nikken Sekkei, EMS Consultants, MHPM, MSE and ARJ Consortium, were recently announced as winners of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Terminal 2 Project design contest. Focused on expanding the Thailand airport, the competition design sparked online accusations of plagiarizing Kengo Kuma’s Wooden Bridge Museum in southern Japan.

DBALP Consortium’s winning airport design

Atlanta airport looks to add gates rather than new terminal

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport officials have shelved plans to build a $1.5 billion international terminal in favor of a more modest proposal to add new gates to its existing terminals, the Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported August 18, 2018.

After determining that the price for the proposed new Terminal G was too steep, officials are looking at extending the airport’s existing domestic terminals to accommodate the new gates. The plan could be incorporated into the Atlanta airport’s ongoing $6 million expansion and modernization project, which already includes the addition of five new gates in Concourse C.

“We have an immediate need for additional domestic gates,” said Tom Nissalke, planning and development manager at the world’s busiest airport by passenger volume.

Options include extending Concourse T and adding six to eight gates, or adding two new gates each to Concources C, D, and E. Those plans would cost approximately $400 to $500 million each, and the latter plan would require the relocation of airport taxiways.

The Atlanta airport currently has 193 gates.

Source: Business Traveller

Macau International Airport release tender for expansion terminal

The Macau International Airport (MIA) has released a public tender notice for the design and construction of the south extension of the passenger terminal building at MIA.

“Due to the continuous increase in passengers, the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) will be extended on the south side,” the tender document explained.

“After the completion of the entire PTB South Extension project, the designed passenger handling capacity is expected to be increased from 7.8 million up to around 10 million. This project will have three new passenger boarding bridges serving multi-centerline parking stands, thus there will be a total of 8 boarding bridges commissioned after completion of the project. The PTB South Extension building will be integrated seamlessly with the current Passenger Terminal Building to provide a uniform, seamless architectural appearance of both the interior and exterior of the building,” the tender document reads.

“A multi-storied Car Park Building will be constructed at the existing MIA South Car Park space during Phase II Works. PTB South Extension Phase III will involve modification and expansion works at the existing VIP Building. These two projects are not included in the scope of this project, but the Contractor shall consider the integration of these two projects into his design and construction for ease of future extension works,” reads the tender document.

According to the tender document, all works should be completed within a period of 20 months.

Source: Macau Daily Times

Malawi: Chileka International Airport upgrading to end in October

Initial works at CIA started on April 26, 2011 but it has delayed due to financial challenges, according to Ministry of Transport and Public Works Spokesperson, James Chakwera.

“The rehabilitation work started a number of years ago. The project is funded by government and we have had challenges with funding to complete it on time,” he explained.

In an interview, Chakwera said currently about 90 per cent of work has been done and that the project is expected to be completed in the next two months.

Chakwera added that CIA is one of the main gateways to Malawi by air and that government expects an improved and a complete facelift of the facility.

Built in 1952 by the British, Chileka is the second largest airport in the country and has been handling ever increasing passenger traffics and flights despite the facility only having two intersecting runways.

Note: Chileka International Airport (IATA: BLZ, ICAO: FWCL) is an airport located 16 km (9 nmi; 10 mi) from Blantyre, the second largest city in the Republic of Malawi and the commercial Capital of Malawi’s Southern Region.

Source: Nyasa Times