Aviaplan: Gardermoen Airport, Oslo, 1998
Project type
The company commissioned the airport design from Aviaplan, a joint venture including three architectural practices from Oslo (Narud-Stokke-Wiig, Niels Torp, Hjellnes Cowi) and one from Copenaghen (Skaarup & Jespersen).
Aviaplan turned to the consulting services of three more companies for the transformation project, including Ove Arup, concerned prevalently with the structures: the partnership made the most of each member's specific expertise in response to a programme defined by the client, Oslo Lufthavan.
The client identified the chief goals of the new airport as efficiency, flexibility, security and integration of environmentally friendly architecture with interior design.
Gardermoen airport, covering a 140,000 square metre area, was originally intended for about 15 million passengers a year; later construction of two more terminals increased its capacity.
The project layout is perfectly clear: the main terminal is positioned in the centre, and houses ticketing and check-in counters, security, and commercial and service facilities.
The departures area on the building's upper level consists of large open spaces taking advantage of the building's full height, topped by an undulated roof which rises toward the north facade.
The arrivals area on the lower level is a hall two storeys high.
On either side of the central construction are two volumes linking the main terminal with the planes, containing waiting areas at each gate, structured on two levels to separate the flow of arriving and departing passengers. Passengers embark and disembark along a series of galleries made entirely out of glass. The building's large transparent surfaces allow people in the building to be aware of their position with respect to the outside.
The roof of the central building has ten pairs of wooden beams which are slightly moulded and left in view, each supported by three solid columns; the secondary structure connecting the pairs of beams is partially visible through the false ceiling, which consists of a perforated metal grid.
The grid allows natural light to filter in from above while also reflecting artificial light from sources positioned below the false ceiling.
Despite its huge size, the ceiling is conceived as a form of decoration for the interior space, featuring the same colours, designs and materials as the interior of the large hall.
The desire to blend all components of the project harmoniously is also evident in the solution represented by the service volume in the main hall: the room looks like a huge box, screened on the outside by a wooden sun-shade.
In the landscape defined by Oslo airport, two accessory projects stand out by contrast: the roof of the railway station, with the characteristic form of a dragon's back, and a series of utility areas for the car parks.
The latter project, by Jensen & Skodvin, stands out for its essential design and unusual cantilevered roofs at the entrances to the parking lots.
The Gardermoen terminal is pervaded by an air of perfect tranquillity, unlike the dense dynamism characterising other airports such as the TWA terminal in New York or Dulles in Washington. The sober architecture and static monumentality of the Aviaplan project are mitigated by the magnificent artistic decorations of the interiors, which form an integral part of the structure.
Floriana De Rosa
Link:
http://www.nordictimber.org/building_construction/case/ttgarder.htm
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