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The Architects Handbook-12

The document outlines the essential components of a typical international airport, highlighting six major elements such as runways, passenger terminals, and freight depots, along with various secondary elements like hotels and railway stations. It emphasizes the importance of integration and ease of connection for passenger experience, noting that airport layouts should minimize confusion and enhance the travel experience. The document also addresses the conflicting priorities of airport authorities and passengers, advocating for design that balances profit with stress-free travel.

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Divesh Kandhye
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16 views1 page

The Architects Handbook-12

The document outlines the essential components of a typical international airport, highlighting six major elements such as runways, passenger terminals, and freight depots, along with various secondary elements like hotels and railway stations. It emphasizes the importance of integration and ease of connection for passenger experience, noting that airport layouts should minimize confusion and enhance the travel experience. The document also addresses the conflicting priorities of airport authorities and passengers, advocating for design that balances profit with stress-free travel.

Uploaded by

Divesh Kandhye
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2 Stansted Airport,

Essex (Arch:
Foster & Partners).
Elevation of
apron area

THE AIRPORT
A typical international airport consists of six major
&-=-. physical elements and up to a dozen secondary ones.
The major elements are:
w Runwa taxiing areas etc.
?
Air tra fic control centre
Passenger terminal
w Car parks and road system
w Freight depot and warehouse areas
Hangars and aircraft service areas
In addition, there are many secondary elements
which can form substantial parts of the airport
estate, such as:
Railway station
w Hotel
Conference facilities
w Leisurehecreation areas
Green space and planted areas
Mature airports (such as Chicago’s O’Hare or
Amsterdam’s Schipol) consist of a well-integrated
amalgam of major and minor elements sometimes
built as a dense collection of closely connected
structures. Others have the range of facilities in more
widely spaced structures, as at Heathrow where they
are joined by an underground railway system and at
Gatwick where an above-ground shuttle links the
two terminals.
Integration and ease of connection is the key to a
successful airport from the passenger point of view.
This is particularity true of the means of reaching the
airport - whether by car, bus or train. The
circulating road system of a typical airport, or the
underground railway, tends to disorientate the
passenger and is frequently overcrowded. Routes
need to be clearly articulated, with buildings and
landscaping providing the means by which a sense of
direction is established. The progression from car
seat to plane seat is necessarily complex (for reasons
of security and control) but the experience should
not be excessively complicated or at any point
unpleasant. Good airport layout and building design
should seek to remove ambiguity, to reduce travel
length, to maintain a sense of progression towards
the destination; and should wherever possible uplift
the spirit. Psychological needs are as important as
physical ones.
L Two clear but divergent perceptions exist - that of
the airport authority which wishes to maximise
n i profit, and that of the passenger who wants stress-
free travel. Good design consists of reconciling these
3 Charles de Gaulle Airport, France (Arch: Paul Andrew). viewpoints.
Plan of Terminal 2 with railway station

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