KEMPEGOWDA INTERNATIONAL has been recognized as the largest terminal in the world to have been pre-certified as a LEED Platinum building by USGBC (US Green Building Council), prior to starting operations. The terminal has also received IGBC (Indian Green Building Council) Platinum certification for its sustainable architecture and design. Raghunath adds, “Some of our holistic, sustainable design strategies include solar sharing and intelligent building systems, as well as the use of renewable materials. We initiated this process by installing solar panels on rooftops of various airside buildings. Additionally, we invested in a solar and wind energy facility located three hours from the airport. We then connected this to the grid, ensuring the airport is entirely powered by renewable energy. We are currently adding solar panels to the rooftop of T2 as well.” Research has found that biophilic environments reduce physiological stress indicators such as heart rate and blood pressure ABOVE Futureproofed growth To make all this construction and sustainable strategizing worth it in the long run, the designers were keenly aware of the importance of shielding the terminal from obsolescence in the future. After all, the airport took less than a decade to triple the number of passengers it served – from 9 million in 2009 to 27 million in 2018. Furthermore, Moore highlights, “Forecasts show demand at the airport as a whole growing beyond 50 million passengers per annum (mppa) in the new terminal in the coming years. The first phase has a capacity of 25 mppa, with about 20 mppa being international traffic. The second phase would add another 10 mppa in capacity.” Therefore, the structural system of Terminal 2 was designed with two primary goals: to achieve sustainability through structural efficiency, and economy through modularity. It was imperative that both these goals be achieved without disrupting the current operations of the terminal. One example of how the airport built T2 with capacity to grow in the future is the innovative bamboo roof above the check-in and retail halls, which features long-span steel moment frames supported by steel columns spaced 18m apart. Each column consists of four posts that are linked together. The grid layout of the columns was designed to enable the utmost flexibility to accommodate changes over time. It also left the terminal with skylights to provide ample filtered natural daylight to potentially increase the number of plants inside in the future. The rectilinear form of the transit hub and terminal enables flexible aircraft parking, uniformity among the gates and modularity in the terminal’s construction. Lefkovits says, “We engineered Terminal 2 with built-in flexibility and efficiency to accommodate changes over time. In an ever-evolving aviation industry, all the gates are equipped with ‘swing’ capacity, or the flexibility to handle different wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. This allows gates to rarely, if ever, sit idle for long periods, and futureproofs the terminal as aircraft continue to evolve. We also designed the terminal with the flexibility to incorporate the latest technological advances in passenger processing and building operations.” With an eye on the future, Raghunath concludes, “Looking ahead, the industry is expected to witness an increased emphasis on data sharing among airlines and key stakeholders. Additionally, the touchless integration of biometric technology is anticipated to become more prevalent, catering to passengers’ desire for greater control and a seamless travel experience. With the increasing reliance on mobile technology, we anticipate a further shift toward providing services and information via mobile platforms. That’s why we were sure to incorporate these trends into the design of T2 to ensure its longevity. Moreover, we have allocated space for a future Terminal 3 to become operational by the late 2020s or early 2030s, aiming to achieve an ultimate capacity of approximately between 90 and 100 million passengers per annum by the early 2030s.” A future Terminal 3 is set to increase airport capacity to 90-100 MPPA by the early 2030 s All the gates are equipped with ‘swing’ capacity Peter Lefkovits, SOM 40 Passenger Terminal World JANUARY 2024 www.PassengerTerminalToday.com