New airport in Novosibirsk

New terminal building for Tolmachevo Airport, Novosibirsk The design treats the façades of the airport building as a continuous glass ribbon running around its perimeter and emphasizing the central higher volume, which contains the main entrances and vestibule. The compositional high-point of the main hall is its columns clad in stainless steel; the contours of these columns recall the turbine of an airplane engine. The choice of anti-reflective glass as the main cladding material will erase the feeling of a clear boundary between exterior and interior space, while well-thought-out evening lighting will make the complex a conspicuous landmark both for those approaching the airport by car and for passengers arriving by airplane. A key element in the concept will be Meeting Point, an art object installed on the square in front of the airport; this will serve as a meeting place for passengers and visitors to Tolmachevo Airport. The main idea behind the design for the new terminal is unity of external appearance and internal content. The public spaces inside the terminal are a natural continuation of the building’s façade design, doing away with the feeling of a rigid visual boundary between its external envelope and interior spaces and thus creating a dynamic modern image for Novosibirsk’s gateway for people arriving by air. When the two stages of reconstruction are complete, the approximate floor area of Novosibirsk’s airport complex will be more than 100 000 sq. m.