Building

the world’s
biggest airport

In Istanbul, an ambitious project is underway to

construct the world’s biggest – and busiest – airport.
Istanbul New Airport, as it’s currently being called,
will serve as a new hub that connects east and west.
Due to open in 2018, with full completion scheduled
for 2028, the terminal buildings have been designed
to give passengers an unrivaled travel experience.
This is a look at what’s on the agenda for the airport
of the future.
Airports 1 2 The future
 Not far from the edges The work being undertaken is designed
of the Black Sea,
Istanbul New Airport
to deliver a smarter, more exciting customer
will be the third airport experience. It will be a new yardstick for
built in Istanbul, after technological innovation, including advances
Atatürk and Sabiha such as biometric self-service, augmented reality,
Gökçen. However,
smart kiosks, social-media-enabled services,
Atatürk will be closed
once the new airport
iBeacons that provide indoor directions,
is fully operational. and an Internet of Things framework that
communicates with smart infrastructure to
deliver a more effective user experience.
Average retail spend per passenger at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport was €15 in 2015,
significantly outperforming the European
average of €10.4. To serve what will be a
significant increase in demand, the airport will
provide passengers with the world’s largest travel
retail shopping environment, with more than
400 luxury brands and a uniquely Turkish
shopping experience called ‘City of Facets’.

Big plans by
the Black Sea
Istanbul has historically been the world’s hub.
With one foot in Europe and the other in Asia,
it’s where east meets, lives, and trades with west.
A little more than 35 kilometers north of the
city, construction is well underway on what is An architect’s
to become a new global hub – and the world’s
largest airport. thoughts
Once complete, Istanbul New Airport will
serve approximately 150 million passengers a
year – roughly two times more than London We talked to Gudmund Stokke, Principal The airport’s first
terminal will be the
Heathrow in 2016. Costing $11.3 billion, it Partner and Chairman of Nordic, one of world’s largest, with
will feature six runways, eight air-traffic control the architect firms working on Istanbul a floor area of about
towers, 165 passenger boarding bridges, 500 New Airport. 1.3 million square
airplane capacity, and rail-connected terminals meters. The four-
phase, six runway
that spread more than 70 million square feet. “With any airport, the most important thing
development will
Originally planned as a replacement for is to design a structure that minimizes walking open the first phase
the city’s over-capacity Atatürk Airport, itself distances to ease the flow of passengers. in 2018 and serve
the fifth busiest airport in Europe, the volatile Airports today depend on bringing in 90 million passengers
security situation in Europe only served to commercial revenue and, as a major hub, the per year.
highlight the need for more robust security retail potential in Istanbul is huge. Lots of people
at the new facility. It’s a core requirement that will come and dwell so we need to provide large
has played a prominent role in the design of areas for restaurants, duty-free, and retail outlets.
the new airport. Plans include extra space and To help people get there quickly, we planned the
bigger circulation areas in all check-in zones, as terminal so that passengers naturally reach the
well as centralized services, and a whole host of main commercial area as smoothly as possible. It
innovative facilities to improve airline efficiency. means the airport gets the revenue it needs and
we can create an atmosphere and environment
where the traveling public – and the thousands of
people working at the airport – feel comfortable.
This will be the gateway to a fantastic
world city, which has thousands of years of
history. In Istanbul, rich culture and historical
connotations exist alongside a sophisticated,
technologically modern society. We want to
express the old culture while simultaneously
looking forward. We’ve done that by using
light and shapes in the roof construction to
give people the feeling they’re arriving in the
modern Istanbul. Through the use of space at
the entrance, there will be room for crowds
of people to move, and openings between
buildings that immediately show people where
to walk. I have a principle of trying to design
‘a building that tells you where to walk’. I think
we’ve achieved that.
This airport will be incredibly important
to the development of Turkey – for the
nation, its economy, and, most importantly,
for the people.”

Airports 3 4 The future

Airports 5 6 The future