Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Occupying 255,000 square meters and facilitating 25 million passengers annually, Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, developed in collaboration with landscape architects Grant Associates, celebrates the city’s garden heritage focusing on sustainability, culture, and most of all nature.
The design establishes a new vision for sustainable growth and conveys a sense of place that is unique to Bengaluru.
“The orchestration of every component—both natural and man-made—creates a passenger experience that we hope will set a precedent for the future of airport design, ”states Peter Lefkovits, Principal at SOM.
The new terminal offers a sequence of distinctive spaces, each integrated with a variety of landscape features, creating a calm oasis within the bustle of an international airport.
By doubling the airport’s annual capacity from 25 million to 50 million passengers, Terminal 2 positions BLR as one of the premier airports in India and the world.
The terminal building includes check-in, immigration, security, retail, arrivals, and baggage claim areas.
Beyond security, there are distinct retail and concession spaces for international and domestic passengers, each featuring ample amenities, lush plantings, and a wide range of shops and dining options.
From the transit hub through the terminal entrance to the gates, passengers traverse a series of spaces distinguished by unique garden features, such as green walls and hanging gardens.
The ceiling, crafted from layers of cross-laid engineered bamboo, filters light akin to a garden pavilion.
Utilizing locally sourced materials, Terminal 2’s finishes include ivory brown granite, umber red bricks, and traditionally woven rattan.
Sustainability and wellness were paramount considerations throughout the design process, with the terminal’s garden design playing a crucial role in supporting the project’s sustainability goals.
Beyond the gardens that define the airport experience, Terminal 2 implements sophisticated, holistic sustainable design strategies that enable the facility to operate entirely on renewable energy.
These strategies include extensive solar sharing and intelligent building systems as well as the use of renewable materials.
The lush vegetation is irrigated with rainwater that is harvested on site, and the retail area’s waterfalls cool the inside temperature.
SOM’s structural engineering team has collaborated with the architecture and planning teams to create a terminal design that is efficient, adaptable, and sustainable.
The terminal’s structural system and rectilinear form accommodates continuous landscaping, which spans multiple levels both inside and outside, as well as the use of skylights and hanging planters.
The terminal’s roof is made entirely out of domestically produced materials and built with local construction technology.
The structural system for the gate areas consists of long-span trusses, which are designed to keep walkways and sightlines clear.
According to the architects, thrive as an international travel destination well into the future, and will allow the airport to increase annual passenger capacity by another 20 million passengers in the coming years.
Project: Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru – Terminal 2
Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.
Lead Architects: Roger Duffy and Colin Koop
Design Principal: Peter Lefkovits and Derek A.R. Moore
Design Team: Jason Anderson, Jordan Pierce, Seok Yoon, William Emenecker, Nick Winter, Christoph Timm, Elizabeth Sennott, Tamicka Marcy, Xialu Xu, Blake Altshuler, Ece Calguner Erzan, and Lauren Kosson
Landscape Architects: Grant Associates Ltd.
Interior Designers: Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla
Client: Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)
Photographers: Ekansh Goel, Studio Recall
