12 xi`an xianyang international airport

12 XI’AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
RUTH SLAVID n
talking
shop
Xi’an Xianyang
International Airport’s
new Terminal 3 is
setting standards in
China as one of the
first airports in the
country to embrace its
commercial content
into its overall design
PROJECT: Xi’an Xianyang International Airport,
Terminal 3
LOCATION: Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
COMPLETION DATE: April 2012
COST: US$1 billion
When one thinks of a new terminal, it is usually as an
addition to the existing offering – an extra 20, 30 or maybe
even 50%. But Xi’an Xianyang International Airport in the
northwest of China has grown so rapidly that its new Terminal 3
dwarfs Terminal 2 and makes the original Terminal 1 appear
entirely insignificant.
This is a feature of the airport market in general in China,
with rapid growth in passenger numbers, and Xi’an being one of
the fastest growing, at around 17% a year. Last year, Terminal
2, initially designed to handle around eight million passengers a
year, had to deal with 22 million (Terminal 1 had a capacity of
just one million). So the new 230,000m2 terminal, which has a
capacity of 22 million and plans for future expansion, was sorely
needed. It is set at a right angle to the existing terminals, and
only Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 now have a landside presence,
although Terminal 1 will still be used airside.
Standing out from the crowd
As well as the spectacular increase in scale, there are two
features that mark out the new terminal. One is the beginning of
the development of a strategy for international traffic and, in
particular, for dealing with transfers. The other is a sophisticated
approach to retail that has not traditionally existed in Chinese
airports, and which was not assigned sufficient space in the
original design for the terminal. It will serve not just Chinese but
also international passengers – despite the fact that few
international flights land at Xi’an Xianyang, international
passengers are numerous, arriving on domestic flights to make
connections. These are both business travellers and tourists
going to see the world-famous terracotta warriors.
MAIN IMAGE: The
retail area within Xi’an
Xianyang boasts
specially designed
chandeliers that
are lit with colourchanging LEDs
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XI’AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 13
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14 XI’AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
RIGHT: Terminal
3’s part-glazed roof
allows for lots of
natural light to enter
the spacious building
Terminal envelope
The most dramatic element of the new terminal design is
the check-in hall, which measures 324 x 108m. There are
just 16 columns in the centre of the hall – of steel encased
in concrete to comply with earthquake codes – from which
steel ‘trees’ rise up to the roof. The enclosure is largely
glass, and the check-in desks have been designed to be as
visually permeable as possible. “Often in Chinese airports
they look like fortresses, with a lot of utilities on top,” says
Weil. “We convinced our designers to provide a different
experience.” There are currently six check-in islands, with
plans for a further four. The intention with this check-in hall,
as with most well-designed contemporary ones, is to allow
passengers to orientate themselves as easily as possible.
All colours are neutral, with the aim of the only colour in the
terminal coming from retail and advertisements – although
Weil admitted that “this is something we have to work on”
as a little extraneous colour sneaked in on the check-in
desks and x-ray machines.
LEFT: The sun sets on
Terminal 3 during the
construction process
Passenger Terminal World | JUNE 2012
“In Europe,” explains Wolfgang Weil, chief operating officer of
Xi’an Xianyang, “when you plan an airport, you normally plan
for transfer to happen airport-wide. It is not so easy in China
yet.” He cites the example of Beijing where, he says, transfer
between terminals typically takes two hours – and longer if it
is an international transfer. At Shanghai Pudong it is, he says,
“a little less”. So, he says, although “at present we don’t have
very much transfer, it will come. And an airport layout that can
accommodate transfer is an advantage. Our original masterplan
would have had limitations for transfer, but now we have to
take it into account.” Now, the masterplan, which extends
to five terminals over 20 years, is being adapted to allow, in
particular, better landside connections and to facilitate transfer.
Changing tack
That is for the future. What the airport has now is a new
terminal with a sweeping roof, enough space for today’s
passengers, and an attractive retail offering in a space that
encourages passengers to linger, and that has some local
character. It was not an easy process, though, as the original
design did none of these things.
The concept design was by Atkins, and was then taken
over by the local design institute of the Chinese Civil Aviation
Authority, a process that is common in China. “They are very
good engineers,” says Weil, but their experience of the needs
of modern airports was limited. “They are responsible for all
the terminals in the northwest of China,” he explains. “But
that meant that the largest terminal they had built was Xi’an
Xianyang’s Terminal 2, 10 years ago. There is a huge difference
of scale there.”
Weil was appointed to his role as part of Fraport, which
has taken a 24.5% stake in the Xi’an Xianyang facility. He
rapidly became aware of the strengths and weaknesses of
the local team. “The terminal was finished in three years,”
he says. “They were very fast, but what was missing was an
understanding of processes. Concrete, steel and glass are of a
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XI’AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 15
very high standard, but the integration of different functions
to allow growth in the future is just not done.”
In particular, he says, “There was no airport in China that
had its commercial content fully planned into the overall
design – it was always done as an afterthought. We wanted
to break from the mentality of ‘do it now and change it
later’.” The aspiration for Xi’an Xianyang was that it should
have a full commercial offering, at a similar level to Hong
Kong International. Only Weil wanted something better
than that. “There, the building looks very beautiful,” he
says, “but the retail is not at the right location in the main
passenger flow.”
In order to achieve attractive, commercially
effective retail, it was essential that sufficient space
was allocated – and that it was in the right place.
“We had said that what the designers had offered
was not acceptable,” says Weil. “We needed a joint
understanding, a clear logic to the design of the
commercial space, of where it went, and how it split
into the different categories.” To arrive at a clear and
indisputable understanding, Weil appointed Londonbased retail analytical company Pragma to carry
out an analysis. The consultants not only questioned
existing passengers about what they bought at the
airport and what they would be able to buy, but
also came up with figures for how far a typical
passenger was likely to detour to reach a particular
type of outlet. Through this work, says Weil, “Our
Chinese colleagues understood just how much space
was needed.” The next step was to appoint another
London-based consultancy, The Design Solution, to
carry out the retail design.
LEFT & BELOW:
Terminal 3 offers
11,000m2 of retail
and food & beverage
space
We needed
a joint
understanding,
a clear logic to
the design of
the commercial
space
ABOVE & LEFT:
Xi’an Xianyang
International’s
Terminal 3 offers
one of the best
commercial
environments in
China
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16 XI’AN XIANYANG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Retail therapy
“We saw the limitations of the design,” says Weil. “There was
not enough space airside.” Part of the solution was not to
approach the design in purely engineering terms. For example,
technical support services were placed in the middle of what
could have been prime retail space because doing this saved
money by making the cabling that was needed shorter. “It’s not
about saving on the cost of cables,” says Weil. “Commercial
areas will pay back the additional expense in a year or so.”
Working with the airport design team and with The Design
Solution, says Weil, “We came up with 22 alternatives that did
not work. Then we came up with a 23rd solution.” Even this
Another unusual aspect of this airport for China is the creation of a
ground transport centre – only the second to be built at a Chinese
was a compromise. Just over half of the desired retail allocation
airport, according to Weil. Designed as a late addition to the airport,
has gone into the existing building, with an extension due for
but already operational, this is a dedicated area that brings together
completion within two years to accommodate the rest. With
pick-up and put-down for all transport methods – private cars, taxis
all the services already in place, this will not, says Weil, be
and buses – along with access to underground car parks. In the
complicated: “You just have to take off a wall, and extend a bay
same way that the design of the terminal interior should enhance
to the south.”
wayfinding and provide a more pleasant and less stressful passenger
experience, so the transport centre should do the same for
Part of the thinking behind the design was to change the
passengers arriving at or leaving the terminal.
approach that, according to Robbie Gill, founder of The Design
Solution, is common in developing economies, where passengers
go straight to the pier. “We wanted to encourage
organic form, and with a large ring,
them to stay in the retail area,” he explains.
around 3.5m across, encircling
This means that while there are plentiful retail
them at their central widest point –
frontages, there are also varied spaces for sitting,
almost like an idealised figure with a
with WiFi and chargers for laptops and phones.
hula hoop. These are lit with colour“It is treated like an airport lounge,” comments
changing LEDs.
Gill. This is also the area where a number of
The chandeliers are just one of
elements have been introduced to give a sense
the elements that were designed
of place, a specific identity relating to China in
by the lighting consultant, Lighting
general, and to Xi’an in particular. In addition to
Design House. Gill believes that getting the lighting
more conventional seating, there are outwardABOVE: External
right is essential. “There are long dark winters, and
facing U-shaped banquettes with an elevated
view of Terminal 3
the shops open early and close late,” he comments.
four-sided vitrine at their centres. These vitrines,
BELOW: The
“We want to give the same level of love to the
framed in wood, contain Chinese artefacts, which
spacious new
airport interior as a hotel designer would give to
are visible from two sides, with the other sides
facility is capable of
the reception area.” The idea is to have a number of
containing embedded LCD screens. There are also
handling 22 million
lighting effects and a series of moods, rather than just
rows of large, specially designed chandeliers in
passengers a year
flat, uniform lighting.
the form of a coarse mesh enclosing a symmetrical
Gill believes that although it is important to create
atmosphere and give an identity to a retail space,
this should not be at the expense of the individual
identities of the retailers. While some architects
are notorious for wanting to impose a degree of
uniformity in design, which stifles the identity of the
individual retailer, Gill takes a more pragmatic – and
commercial – approach. “If you have a great brand,
it should stand out and be recognised,” he says. The
shop fronts therefore offer plenty of space for large
signs and branding, but each is enclosed in a ‘frame’
of Chinese red with some gold ornamentation. This
has been done to tie the space together and stamp it
with the character of the airport.
At present, the airport at Xi’an Xianyang stands
out within China for the sophistication of its retail
offering. But others will catch up in the next couple of
years, and when they do, that individual identity will
be even more important than it is now. n
Arriving and leaving
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