massimiliano + doriana fuksas: shenzhen international airport under construction

‘shenzhen bao’an international airport’ by massimiliano + doriana fuksas, shenzhen, china image © designboom

designboom recently visited the construction site for the terminal 3 extension at the ‘shenzhen bao’an international airport’ by italian architects massimiliano and doriana fuksas. won by competition in 2008, the 400,000 square meter addition will make the airport the fourth largest in china following beijing, shanghai and guangzhou.

the undulating and fluid exterior is generated with a triple layer structural system to support the clear spans of the interior’s 80 meter width. a deep space frame connects to the outer honeycomb skin and inner box frame trusses which undulate independently of external form, producing one supporting unit. extensive computer analysis was needed to generate the custom measurements for each hexagonal metal panel and operable glass window on the 300,000 square meter surface area. the steel framework is attached to a series of supercolumns, diverting heavy loads into the concrete substructure and foundations. 

designboom was given a tour through the construction site, led by tian fang, project manager and a few shenzhen-based members of the fuksas team image © designboom

sectioned into three levels, the ground floor will accommodate passenger arrivals and the first floor will be reserved for departures. the upper platform will facilitate public services for transient visitors. the project’s expected completion date is in 2015.

exterior of the terminal image © designboom

terminating edge of the concourse image © designboom

workers installing the roof image © designboom

outward view from the terminal image © designboom

interior steel structural layer undulates independently of the exterior form creating a deeper section for additional space frame image © designboom

arched box frame trusses span the 80 meter wide concourse image © designboom

arched box frame trusses span the 80 meter wide concourse image © designboom

third level of main concourse will contain public services image © designboom

upper level services floor image © designboom

upper level services floor image © designboom

horizontal outrigger secures to concrete substructure image © designboom

interior layer of steel structure undulates in a varied form creating a deeper structural cross section image © designboom

space frame structure secures the skin of the curtain wall image © designboom

outward view through the facade image © designboom

construction workers installing the facade image © designboom

structural system connects to a series of supercolumns in the future check-in area image © designboom

structural system connecting to supercolumn image © designboom

top of the supercolumn image © designboom

scaffolding to install skin image © designboom

aerial view of the terminal image © designboom

structural system at the roof image © designboom

installation of skin framework and panels on the roof image © designboom

view of wing extending from main concourse image © designboom

view of wing extending from main concourse image © designboom

installation of skylight image © designboom

extensive steel structure is secured to a series of supercolumns image © designboom

steel space frame holds outer skin into place image © designboom

uniquely sized glass panels image © designboom

the fuksas team leading the group through the building image © designboom

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

image courtesy studio fuksas

project info:

object: shenzhen bao’an international airport-expansion t3 project: massimiliano and doriana fuksas structural + facade engineering: knippers helbig – advanced engineering, stuttgart – new york date: 2008-2012 (first phase) client: shenzhen airport (group) co., ltd area: 400.000 mq in phase 3 type: on going project interior design: fuksas design general contractor: china state construction engineering corporation, beijing architect of record: biad (beijing institute of architectural design), beijing lighting consulting: speirs & major associates, edinburgh, london

— the 2011 SZHK biennale in shenzhen, china runs from december 8th through december 11th 2011. the scale of certain projects is such that the architect becomes not only a designer of buildings but also city planner and landscape architect and the shenzhen & hong kong bi-city biennale of urbanism \ architecture reflects this in its theme: architecture creates cities – cities create architecture. the SZHK biennale is the first to focus on urbanism as an ongoing theme to explore issues of the city as an active agent in contemporary culture. the program included more than 30 exhibitions, symposiums, panel discussions and performances. terence riley has been appointed chief curator (he is the first international curator for the event). the hong kong edition will work to complement the shenzhen biennale in an integrative way and is curated by gene king and anderson lee currently under preparation and due to open in february 2012. designboom is the principal international media partner of the SZHK biennale.

‘shenzhen builds’ designboom was given the opportunity to visit the construction site of the terminal extension, as part of the program ‘shenzhen builds’. the buildings being built in shenzhen today are setting international standards for most of the building types: the ‘shenzhen builds’ exhibition, curated by terence riley, focuses on 5 new and upcoming buildings in the city by coop himmelb(l)au / wolf prix, massimiliano and doriana fuksas, OMA / rem koolhaas, urbanus, and atelier FCJZ / yung ho chang. on show are models, animations and drawings, including other developmental materials to demonstrate how these projects were conceived. designboom will cover this exhibition in upcoming articles, please stay tuned for more to come.