A snowflake terminal, a proposal in China

19 Jul A snowflake terminal, a proposal in China

Nowadays there is a proposal for Terminal 3 at Harbin Taipin Airport in China, inspired by the region’s snowy areas and cold winter weather. Terminal 3 will increase the capacity of the airport serving the capital of Heilongjang, China’s northernmost province.

As architecture firms in Miami catch our attention this style based on winter and the original design that will turn this terminal into a place that everyone will want to see it. Ma Yansong, MAD Architects, usually works establishing strong links with the environment as well as creating spaces where people feel comfortable. It is for this reason that the shapes buildings are based on the shapes of nature.

Thanks to the design of this Terminal viewed from above is a snowflake, as reference of the wide amount of snowy landscapes of the region. The building topography is inspired in the China`s north landscapes.

Due to the increase of transport demand is necessary an airport expansion. An area of 3.300 hectares, is a project with human and energy objectives. It is an efficient building where energy is saved. It is designed to offer services to 43 million of passengers in 320.000 annual flights. Then, this building will provide transport center, shops, parking and hotels.

Because of the snowflake design (5 perimeter corridors) helps to decrease the needed time to access to exit doors. The edges of the roof imitate snow accumulations (as skylights) help light enter the interior, reducing the need for artificial lighting. At the same time, their rhythmic direction naturally guides travelers through the entire space.

There are a great amount of interior gardens, so there is a relaxed ambient. It is plenty of green areas which connect different levels of a building, becoming areas where people can disconnect for a few minutes from the life of an airport.

The transport center will connect the terminal with the city. There will a high speed train, subway, airport buses as well as other urban transports.

MAD has made an effort to get out of the lines of the typical modern airport; joining humanity, nature and the local environment of this architectural highest functional. It is a vision for the travel of the XXI century.

This attractive design can be seen as surreal, futuristic and from a science fiction film, but it will a real building in few years. It is one of the most appropriate approaches to architectural design taking as a starting point designs of nature applied to everyday uses but without forgetting the function and use adapted to the place. Approximation that we also apply as in Fernandez Architecture in some of our projects.