New Kuwait International Airport Terminal Design

A radical-looking new terminal has been designed for Kuwait International Airport by Foster + Partners.

Unveiled at the start of October 2011, the new Kuwait International Airport terminal will start to be built next year and be put into commercial operation from 2017 onwards.

The Foster + Partners terminal design incorporates a parabolic trefoil layout and very roughly resembles an aircraft propeller when viewed from above. The distance between each of the terminal's points is 1.2 kilometres and the building reaches a central height of 25 metres.

New Kuwait International Terminal

The addition of the new terminal at Kuwait International will allow the site to handle higher numbers of passengers in the future but it will also work to reduce the airport's carbon footprint by including several environmental technologies. The most prominent of these will be the array of photovoltaic solar cells, mounted on the roof, which convert sunlight into electricity, but there'll also be other elements, in support of Foster + Partners' bid to get the new Kuwait International terminal LEED-certified.

This will mean that it's recognised by the Green Building Council as having achieved the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design award - a status enjoyed by some of the greenest buildings on the planet.

If the LEED status is attained, it will be a first within airport terminal design.

Kuwait Airport Terminal Design

"The scale of the airport shows Kuwait's great foresight in recognising the benefits of strategic investment in future infrastructure", Foster + Partners Chief Executive, Mouzhan Majidi, explained in a company press release on the Kuwait Airport terminal design.

He continued: "The environmental ambitions driving the project are equally impressive. We are pleased to have this opportunity to reveal our designs. The emblematic three-winged form will be as memorable from the air as from the ground - a new symbol of contemporary Kuwait, which resonates with its rich culture and history."

Kuwait International Airport is situated 15 kilometres outside Kuwait City and is a main hub for Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways. Once the innovative new terminal is in place, its passenger capacity will increase to 13 million in the first instance, ultimately hitting the 50m mark, once further new features have been added.

Image copyright and courtesy of Foster + Partners

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