ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN passengers explore the ‘forest belt’ – a network of landscaped bridges and outdoor walkways en route to the gate. Our goal was to invert every expectation of how an airport should look and feel.” Kempegowda isn’t SOM’s first foray into the great ‘indoor-outdoors’. “We have designed a series of integrated landscaping for other airport projects such as Chhatrapati Shivaji International [in India] – Terminal 2 and Singapore Changi International – Terminal 3,” notes Lefkovits. “Most recently, we designed an exterior garden adjacent to the baggage claim at Kansas City International, which features a fountain that nods to Kansas City’s moniker as ‘the Fountain City’. While these examples highlight moments of ‘indoor-outdoor’ spaces, Kempegowda International Airport is the first time we have created a fully immersive landscape experience throughout the entire terminal.” South Korea’s Incheon International Airport also boasts an iconic airport garden development featuring a rich mix of flowering plants, trees, ferns and bamboo, with smaller water, rock, cactus and pine gardens strategically located across the airport campus. Cultural enlightenment Tim Hudson, aviation practice leader at Gensler, oversaw the design of a series of enormous gardens and even aviaries within Incheon’s Terminal 2. “Key objectives were to create distinctive activities for passengers integrated into dynamic spaces that focus on the cultural layers of nature,” he says. Green spaces create a higher sense of relaxation and health Tim Hudson, Gensler *Visit our website to access our archive of back issues Incheon’s indoor gardens feature 150 different species of plants ABOVE High translucent roofs deliver an abundance of filtered, natural daylight inside the terminal through open, massive roof spans and further translucent panels within the building. This helps to nurture a diverse range of natural plants and trees, which grow as if in a greenhouse. Park-like settings and vegetation-lined avenues for pedestrian walking paths connect concessions, art exhibits and performance stages. “Particular emphasis was placed on creating authentic passenger experiences rooted in local and national culture,” continues Hudson. “Green spaces create a higher sense of relaxation and health. They provide potential for increased revenue opportunities as people are more inclined to dwell in and around these parks and green spaces while enjoying a meal or reading a book. Trees and landscape elements can bring a sense of human scale to significantly high roof volumes, which helps reduce stress levels compared with terminals with low ceilings and crowded holdroom seating areas.” SOM’s Lefkovits had to work equally hard to bring natural light into Kempegowda, without overloading the HVAC system: “We worked closely with our landscape architect, Grant Associates, and lighting designers, BPI, to balance the daylighting requirements of the plants and the energy loads of the building to create a natural interior environment. The skylights were then tuned to provide the perfect amount of filtered natural daylight to the interior spaces.” www.PassengerTerminalToday.com APRIL 2024 Passenger Terminal World 55