Beijing Daxing International Airport Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects,
Grand architecture usually starts with the details,
and last year the Beijing Daxing Airport, co-designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and ADP Ingénierie, opened.
The airport is the largest in the world, features the largest terminal ever built,
and is a high-quality structure that spans more than 7.5 million square feet.
Working with Arup and BuroHappold,
the team was able to design long-span steel structures that integrate with a continuous open floor plan.
BDIA was established as a new airport located in Daxing District,
south of the city center, and developed in order to relieve congestion at the existing capital airport.
It is designed to be a major transportation hub in the region,
fully integrated with the country’s expanding transportation network.
The station also includes a ground transportation hub,
providing direct connections to Beijing for the economic development of Tianjin and Hebei Province.
Design Features
The design is inspired by traditional Chinese architecture that organizes interconnected spaces around a central courtyard,
with the building’s design directing passengers through related departure,
arrival or transfer areas toward the large courtyard in its center.
Within the building’s vaulted ceiling are six forms that reach into the ground to support the structure and bring natural light inside,
directing all occupants toward the central courtyard.
Beijing Daxing Airport is designed to set a new standard in air transportation services within a compact
and efficient passenger terminal that is adaptable for future growth.
The design team worked with Arup to engineer the steel roof,
a large-scale lattice structure containing more than 170,000 steel members.
The iconic roof structure spans over 350,000 square metres, and is supported by C-shaped pillars attached to the roof.
Structural extensions of up to 100 meters create the station’s spacious public spaces and allow for future reconfigurations.
Arup engineers studied structural configuration, loading, vertical support system reactions, structural deflection, and offset.
A total of 420 total load groups were considered,
and 38 different cross-section sizes were used in the superstructure.
Beijing Daxing International Airport Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects
Arup proposed different strategies for different areas of the station to improve the roof truss patterns,
with the result being a reduced steel load, in addition to integrating the transport hub and the station building.
The station’s radial design and integrated roof allow a maximum number of aircraft to park directly in the station with minimal distances from the center of the building.
Gates and air bridges connect directly to the terminal,
while five jetties radiate directly from the terminal’s main central court where all passenger services and amenities are located.
This radial configuration ensures that the farthest boarding gate can be reached in less than 8 minutes walking time.
The team also worked with BuroHappold,
on a number of engineering and design options, by incorporating several passive elements into the project,
from high-performance glass to ceiling lights that improve the plant’s energy performance.
The roof end structure incorporates fresh air inlets and return air ducts,
while providing vented air at lower levels to reduce energy use and increase comfort.
By vertical stacking the international and domestic levels and integrating the roof structure,
Beijing Daxing Airport creates a continuous space between massive parabolic columns and convex skylights.
The result was a futuristic and innovative design built to accommodate 45 million passengers a year when it opened, rising to 75 million in the coming years.
With the world’s largest airport, Zaha Hadid Architects has achieved not only a triumph of form,
but also a spatial experience as a gateway to both Beijing and China as a whole.
