Lahore to get a new airport!

Info & Images: Courtesy the architect

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Gilbartolomé Architects design the new Lahore airport in Pakistan, which will serve 25 million passengers annually, becoming one of the most ambitious and modernized projects of the country…

 

Selected among other powerful European and American consortia in a competitive process, in October 2015, Pablo Gil and Jaime Bartolomé, directors of the Spanish Gilbartolomé Architects and their team have projected the new passenger terminal in collaboration with engineering office Typsa and Pakistani Asian Consulting, proposed to begin by end 2017.

 

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This new and emblematic terminal seeks to transform Lahore airport into a global aerial communication node, guaranteeing the economic growth of Pakistan and projecting a picture of modernity to the world.

 

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The new terminal contains a GFA of 260.500 sq. m. and 30 boarding gates. As a building that wraps another building, one of the greatest challenges involved in the design is the need to incorporate the existing terminal, with a current capacity of 4.5 million passengers per year, integrating it both, aesthetically and functionally in the final scheme, and keeping it operative throughout the process of the construction.

Leaving the existing terminal untouched, the new extension will be built around it, with a gardened patio, which will allow natural light inside the building and will be pierced by walkways to connect the old and new buildings. The result will showcase the existing building -built in 2003- and simultaneously bind the new into a coherent whole, using a flexible and functional interior scheme.

 

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The building will respond to Lahore’s flat topography and take inspiration in the earthy colours of the ceramic architecture of the Punjab. As is customary in Pakistan for the family and friends accompanying the traveler to remain in the building until the aircraft takes off, or up to the moment the passenger arrives from a trip, the airport lobby will constitute an opportunity to turn the airport lobby into a public space, which can host great crowds for extended periods of time.

 

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The space is proposed at height of 18 m, separated in two open levels, and ordered by a structure of pillars holding the roof of the building. The check-in hall, the cafeterias, restaurants and indoor gardens will allow for the enjoyment of a space that connects the architectural tradition of the large Hypostyle halls with GilBartolome’s contemporary design language and the innovative construction techniques the office implements in their projects. The lighting design and the incorporation of indoor vegetation are two other significant issues in this project.