Two years ago, Zurich Airport, which opened in the 1950s, launched an international design competition to replace the aging Dock A—the airport’s largest dock. The winning design is led by BIG, with HOK as the aviation architect. The new Dock A—including gates, retail, lounges, offices, a new air traffic control tower, and an extension of the immigration hall—is slated to open by 2032.
The seven-floor Dock A will have two main areas: a central hub with shopping, airport services for arriving and departing passengers, and vertical circulation; and a pier with the gates, waiting areas, and fixed links connecting to the planes. The control tower will be placed in the building’s center.
Dock A’s structure, floors, and ceilings will be made primarily with mass timber. A renewable local resource, this material will allow for prefabrication during the construction process—while also nodding to the Swiss tradition of wood construction. The building’s V-shaped timber columns not only provide structural support but also reference Switzerland’s iconic mountains and pitched roofs.
“As airports grow and evolve and as international guidelines and safety requirements change, airports tend to become more and more complex: Frankensteins of interconnected elements, patches and extensions,” Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director, BIG, said in a statement. “For the new main terminal of Zurich Airport, we have attempted to answer this complex challenge with the simplest possible response: a mass timber space frame that is structural design, spatial experience, architectural finish, and organizational principle in one.”
The long, sculptural roof will be covered with PV panels. Integrated shading will reduce solar heat gain and maintenance requirements. And the building will use a combination of water and air-based cooling and heating systems.
The “simple yet expressive design,” Ingels added, embodies “the cultural and natural elements of Swiss architecture.”
On the building team:
Owner: Zurich Airport
Design lead: BIG
Aviation architect: HOK
Local architect: 10:8
Structural engineer: Buro Happold
Structural engineer timber/building physics: Pirmin Jung Schweiz AG
Mechanical engineer: Haerter & Partner AG
Electrical engineer: TLP
Construction management: Baurealisation
Related Stories
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Small and regional airports in a dogfight for survival
Small and regional airports are in a dogfight for survival. Airlines have either cut routes to non-hub markets, or don’t provide enough seating capacity to meet demand.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Airports expand rental car facilities to ease vehicular traffic at their terminals
AEC teams have found fertile ground in building or expanding consolidated rental car facilities, which are the No. 1 profit centers for most airports.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Experts discuss how airports can manage growth
In February 2015, engineering giant Arup conducted a “salon” in San Francisco on the future of aviation. This report provides an insight into their key findings.
Airports | Jul 28, 2015
Plans to make over New York’s aging LaGuardia Airport are revealed
The complete redesign, devised by a panel of experts, would unify terminals, relieve ground traffic congestion, and install state-of-the-art amenities.
Airports | Jul 22, 2015
MUST SEE: JFK airport taps Gensler to design terminal for animals
Pets can enjoy luxurious spa and grooming services before being transported directly to their flight from the terminal.
Airports | Jul 1, 2015
FIRST LOOK: JetBlue opens sprawling green rooftop at JFK International Airport
The 4,046-sf rooftop includes landscaped green spaces, seating for 50 people, 400-sf children’s play area, and a 400-sf dog-walk area.
Sponsored | Airports | Jun 5, 2015
Exposed glulam framework offers quiet complement to Jackson Hole airport’s mountain backdrop
A three-phase expansion and renovation, which began in 2009, nearly doubled the size of the aviation hub; the only one located in a national park
Airports | Apr 21, 2015
Trends driving airport construction
Upgrades to aviation infrastructure have not kept pace with the increase in airport traffic or even at a level sufficient to accommodate the life cycle of our many dated terminal facilities. Until now.
Airports | Feb 6, 2015
Zaha Hadid-designed terminal in Beijing will be world’s largest
The terminal will accommodate 45 million passengers per year, and will be a hub for both air and rail travel.
| Jan 2, 2015
Construction put in place enjoyed healthy gains in 2014
Construction consultant FMI foresees—with some caveats—continuing growth in the office, lodging, and manufacturing sectors. But funding uncertainties raise red flags in education and healthcare.