International Architecture Awards Tell a friend

Abu Dhabi, UAE | 2017

Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Client: Abu Dhabi Airport Company
Contractors: TAV Construction/ CCC/ Arabtec - Joint Venture

Abu Dhabi International Airport Midfield Complex is integral to the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan - transforming the desert into the ‘Garden of the Gulf’ through a design that responds to its natural environment, while meeting the needs of the rapidly expanding capital.

Conceived as a gateway to the city, the Terminal Building is raised up from road level giving the appearance of sitting on its own plateau.

On approaching the Terminal Building the roadway system and landscaping work together to create a sequence of events culminating in a monumental civic space inside the terminal.

Internally the scale of the Departure Hall, a 50-metre high space rendered largely column-free through the use of long span leaning arches, endows the building with an open, outdoor quality, with the supporting arches visually separated from the roof to enhance the lightweight feel.

The central space is complemented by retail and food outlets, a program of public art, gallery space and a secluded garden.

The X-shape plan provides the greatest programmatic efficiencies with 49 gates, processing an anticipated 40+ million travellers annually.

The roof of the piers along the X is ‘pulled down’ on the facade in an undulating form to protect the building from the sun.

Also guided by the project’s environmental objectives the building includes a number of measures including the reduction in the use of potable water by using dry climate landscaping and the efficient use of natural day lighting supplemented with low energy lighting.