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Transportation
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Research Procedia
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(2019) 000–000
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Transportation Research Procedia 56 (2021) 136–142

1st International Conference on Aviation Future: Challenge and Solution (AFCS 2020)

Articulate Design Thinking for Sustainable Airport Environment:

A Case Study of Singapore Changi Airport T3
Ducksu Seo a*
a*

a
a Handong
Handong Global
Global University,
University, Department
Department of
of Spatial
Spatial Environment
Environment System
System Engineering,
Engineering, Pohang,
Pohang, South
South Korea
Korea

Abstract
Abstract

Binary
Binary thinking
thinking to to create
create cities
cities and
and buildings
buildings havehave been
been the
the critical
critical destructive
destructive force
force against
against nature
nature since
since they
they have
have been
been dominated
dominated
by
by the highest concentration of human activity. Particularly, airport construction has a negative influence on it with
the highest concentration of human activity. Particularly, airport construction has a negative influence on it with pressure
pressure
regarding
regarding thethe aviation
aviation industry’s
industry’s environmental
environmental impact.
impact. ItIt is,
is, therefore,
therefore, definitely
definitely crucial
crucial to to convert
convert binary
binary thinking
thinking to to articulate
articulate
thinking
thinking for
for environmentally
environmentally friendly
friendly airport
airport design
design and
and the
the ultimate
ultimate goal
goal ofof carbon
carbon neutrality.
neutrality. This
This study
study aims
aims toto find
find significant
significant
implications
implications for for sustainable
sustainable airport
airport design
design from
from the
the critical
critical review
review of of Changi
Changi Airport
Airport T3.T3. This
This envisions
envisions an an articulated
articulated design
design
approach
approach by by creating
creating the
the inner
inner spaces
spaces toto integrate
integrate with
with the
the groundside
groundside landscape,
landscape, building
building performance,
performance, and and green
green technologies.
technologies.
There
There are
are interesting
interesting design
design factors
factors of
of multidisciplinary
multidisciplinary thinking
thinking in in Changi
Changi Airport
Airport T3.
T3. The
The one
one is
is horizontal
horizontal integration
integration by by the
the
green
green continuation
continuation from from the
the exterior
exterior nature
nature of of the
the airport
airport groundside
groundside to to inside
inside the
the terminal
terminal through
through aa series
series of
of large
large transparent
transparent
surfaces
surfaces ofof the
the building.
building. The
The interaction
interaction isis able
able to
to positively
positively influence
influence the the creation
creation of
of aa new
new culture
culture and
and place
place perception
perception such such as
as
an interior park. The other is vertical integration in that the terminal’s giant green walls and other vegetation
an interior park. The other is vertical integration in that the terminal’s giant green walls and other vegetation communities integrate communities integrate
natural
natural performance
performance and and system
system into
into the
the building.
building. The
The hybrid
hybrid interior
interior landscape
landscape ofof T3T3 isis enabled
enabled by by integrating
integrating landscape
landscape and and
technologies.
technologies. The The idea
idea of
of aa massive
massive vertical
vertical garden
garden isis able
able toto bebe efficiently
efficiently installed
installed and
and operated
operated thanks
thanks to to double-layer
double-layer cablescables
support
support system
system andand unique
unique roof
roof concept
concept enabling
enabling natural
natural skylight
skylight penetration.
penetration. Thus,
Thus, the
the interior
interior landscaping
landscaping presents
presents aa significant
significant
and
and innovative design approach to mingle nature with the building and technology. Building performance is
innovative design approach to mingle nature with the building and technology. Building performance is enhanced
enhanced by by the
the
synthetic
synthetic feedback
feedback mechanisms
mechanisms between
between building,
building, landscape,
landscape, and and technology.
technology. As As aa cyborg
cyborg concept
concept perceives
perceives aa synthetic
synthetic feedback
feedback
dynamic
dynamic through
through systematic
systematic integration
integration ofof mechanical
mechanical parts
parts and
and the
the human
human body's
body's natural
natural mechanisms,
mechanisms, the the cyborg
cyborg interior
interior concept
concept
and
and design
design for
for thorough
thorough bio-integration
bio-integration should
should be be further
further developed
developed with with integrative
integrative thinking
thinking andand multidisciplinary
multidisciplinary approaches
approaches to to
transcend
transcend dichotomous
dichotomous thinking.
thinking. Architects,
Architects, landscape
landscape architects,
architects, and and technical
technical engineers
engineers can can create
create new
new frontiers
frontiers ofof hybrid
hybrid design
design
and
and culture
culture for
for an
an environmentally
environmentally friendly
friendly airport.
airport.
© 2021 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.
©
© 2020
2020
This The
The
is an Authors.
accessPublished
Authors.
open Published by
by Elsevier
article under Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This
This is an open
is an open
Peer-review access
access
under article under the
article underofthe
responsibility CC
theCC BY-NC-ND
BY-NC-ND
scientific license
of(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
license
committee (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
the 1st International Conference on Aviation Future: Challenge
and Solution

*
* Corresponding
Corresponding author.
author. Tel.:
Tel.: +82-54-260-1432;
+82-54-260-1432; fax:
fax: +82-54-260-1429
+82-54-260-1429
E-mail address: handonge@handong.edu
E-mail address: handonge@handong.edu

2352-1465
2352-1465 © © 2020
2020 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
This is
This is an
an open
open access
access article
article under
under the
the CC
CC BY-NC-ND
BY-NC-ND license
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of the
the scientific
scientific committee
committee of
of the
the 1st
1st International
International Conference
Conference on
on Aviation
Aviation Future:
Future: Challenge
Challenge and
and Solution
Solution

2352-1465 © 2021 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 1st International Conference on Aviation Future: Challenge
and Solution
10.1016/j.trpro.2021.09.016
2 Ducksu Seo / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000
Ducksu Seo et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 56 (2021) 136–142 137
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 1st International Conference on Aviation Future: Challenge
and Solution
Keywords: Articulate Thinking, Changi Airport, Interior Landscape, Green Integration

1. Introduction

Humans have been living in a world dominated by binary thinking, human and nature, architecture and landscape
architecture, city and rural area. An Airport which is a product of high technology has disregarded natural
environments and focused on only architectural approaches. Airports usually serve as hubs of global exchange and
national gateways or entrances, throughout the world. Due to its significance as a national entrance, the design quality,
programmatic diversity and functional efficiency are being increasingly scrutinized. In the case of Singapore’s Changi
airport, the interior landscape of terminal 3 (T3) has been spotlighted in the world for its integrative approach of
architecture and landscape architecture in airport design. The significance of the design of Changi airport T3 is the
implication for a change from binary thinking to integrative thinking. The interior landscape design of T3 pronounces
an audacious environmental statement for an articulate collaboration with the architecture, rather than a mere
decorative accent. It demonstrates that landscaping is no longer a complement to the architecture and it, rather, serves
to complete the architecture. This study aims to review critical design moments leading to a shift from binary thinking
to articulate thinking, in the literature of multiple scales of design, and then illuminate the space of the interior
landscape and the implication of Changi airport T3.

2. Theoretical Review for Articulate Design Thinking

Humans are familiar with dividing man and nature, culture and nature, reasonable and emotional, architecture and
landscape architecture. Several critics and philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Alice Jardine
argued that binary thinking can be identified as a strong medium to establish authority in the hierarchical structure
(Meyer, 1997). Anker argues the exploitative approaches were a critical issue around World War II and through the
cold war because economic forces dominated urban and housing development without consideration of ecological
relations. McHarg, however, fundamentally understood the dichotomous structure in the context of Judaism, a notion
that a controlling power was derived from conquest and exploitation of nature in the creation story (McHarg, 1992).
Obviously, the binary thinking has led to ruthless industrialization and urban sprawl which have the most destructive
force against nature since it contains the highest concentration of human activity. Cities, the largest creation of
humanity by far, have led to huge environmental and ecological problems such as soil and water contamination, smog,
traffic congestion, urban decay, climate change, loss of habitat, and deforestation. Environmental degradation has
become a critical issue and threatens the health of humanity and nature.
An approach to integrate nature and built environments initially emerged at the regional level. Patrick Geddes
applied biological thinking to the city and regional planning. Welter called the term “biopolis” for integrating Geddes's
biological thought with urban and regional views as cultural and spiritual phenomenon (Welter and Whyte, 2003).
Mumford considered regional planning as a means of responding to the deteriorating environment, and put more
emphasis on coexistence of human and nature in it (Luccarelli and Mark, 1995). The concept of regional planning
implicated a new relationship between nature and human built environments, and the planning meant struggling for
alternatives against spoiled industrial landscape. McHarg strongly stressed the intrinsic suitability of lands for urban
and regional planning, and argued that physical planning should be well mingled with natural conditions and values.
Ecological values of the land were a preliminary consideration (McHarg, 1992).
In this context, the Tennessee valley authority (TVA) project has a significant implication for a practically achieved
project and a new paradigm of a landscape’s role in a regional scale. It pursued the project based not on political
boundaries but on the geomorphologic conditions and landscapes for rebuilding the region as a new utopia (Luccarelli,
1995F). Hilberseimer’s renewal plan of Lafayette Park was also another example of transcending binary thinking and
restructuring. He suggested a new construction model against Detroit's ongoing deterioration. While urban patterns
normally have been determined with buildings and infrastructure, he underlined the landscape as a key element for
restructuring spatial configuration, and design the super block (Waldheim, 2004). Urban park design has shown more
revolutionary approaches to integrate landscape and built-environment. Downsview park design proposals showed
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Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 3

interdisciplinary design to create complexity in contemporary ecological thinking. The design proposals considered
the system as uncertainty and undecidability against conventional park design. The key concept is supported by
practical strategies such as successional process of vegetation, integrating engineering techniques and ecology, and
harnessing natural energies (Czerniak, 2001).
Meyer defined these phenomena as “the hybrid of human nature and nonhuman nature” with several historical
precedents of park design. He noted that the Emerald Necklace was a result of not preservation of natural condition
but “a hybrid of machine and organism” or “cyborg” at that time because the initial concept of the project was to
prevent frequent flooding events and to enhance water quality through connecting the park system to a human-made
landscape (Meyer,1997). There was mingling between civil engineering and landscape architecture. And there are
more precedents to demonstrate it. OMA’s second-prize proposal for the parc de la Villette competition also supports
the argument. The design concept and strategies blurred the boundaries of building and vegetating, based on
“similarity”. In other words, this project emphasized the ambiguity of naturalness and artificiality (Meyer,1997).
In the scale of a building, innovative experiments are leading to integrate landscape, building fabric, and structure
systemically and functionally. Ken Yeang, a leading architect of this field, stresses “ecodesign” which is “designing
for the benign and seamless biointegration of our built environment with the natural environment” (Yeang, 2006). It
does not mean designing for minimum negative impacts to the natural environment. However, it does outweigh
harmonious meshing with natural flow and process and physical disposition of human-made environments. To achieve
the goal and make it a reality, he argues that ecodesign should be “ecomimicry” by imitating the logic of nature’s
ecosystem such as “networks, cycles, solar energy, partnership, diversity, and dynamic balance.” (Yeang, 2006).

3. Emergence of Singapore Changi Airport T3

The third terminal project of Singapore Changi airport also has a significant implication to break the binary thinking
and integrate nature with the built environment with systematic high performance in airport planning and design. The
importance of the project is to closely collaborate with landscape architects, architects, and interior designers in the
initial stage of planning and design.
The former international airport of Singapore was Paya Lebar airport which was planned for a capacity of one
million passenger movements in 1955. Later burgeoning global air travel demand gradually produced heavy traffic
congestion and passenger capacity problems. There were urgent needs for expansion of the airport since it hardly
handled four million passenger movements in 1970s. The government decided to build a new international airport at
Changi which was five times bigger than Paya Lebar airport. Prior to airport relocation, land reclamation work became
a critical issue since it required highly advanced engineering technologies for leveling, soil stabilization and runway
reinforcement (Vincent, 2008). Since 1975, a huge landfill and seafill of over 52,000,000 square meters has been
constructed and a canal was built to drain water. The first terminal opened in 1981, the second terminal in 1991, and
the third terminal was completed in 2008 and served to connect all three terminals (Probert, 2006)
Unlike the first and second terminals, the third terminal is highly spotlighted for achieving an interdisciplinary and
cooperative design process with a successful interior landscape. Several design companies were involved in this
project: TIERRA Singapore (Landscape Architect), SOM New York (Design Consultant), Airport Design Division
CPG(Architect), and Woodhead Wilson (Interior Designer). When the landscape design began during the early stages
of project planning, the team was able to integrate the building design, the interior design, and the landscape design
into a cohesive whole (ASLA, 2006).

4. Articulate Design Thinking on the Project

The landscape master plan of Changi Airport T3 envisioned the interior landscape to integrate with the outside
of the groundside landscape, building performance, and technology. The specific design strategies have
implications for the articulated think approach. First, the green continuation from exterior gardens of airport
groundside to inside the terminal through a series of large transparent glass 'skins' of the building (Figure 1).
The visual green connectivity provides more comfort and natural atmosphere to visitors inside the terminal (Figure
2). These environments are able to positively influence the creation of a new culture and place perception such as an
interior park (Figure 3). Waldheim (2006), referring to a landscapes impact to built-environment, stated the landscape
medium has proven uniquely capable of providing a cultural frame for apprehending and intervening in the sites of
 Ducksu Seo et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 56 (2021) 136–142 139
4 Ducksu Seo / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

contemporary urbanization. To perceive and consider landscape as a more attractive medium, it must be understood
with its connectivity. Numerous architects are using transparent materials for spatial continuation between inner and
outer spaces. In other words, the setting represents a process to destroy or blur the boundary between them. Changi
T3’s green continuation strategy can be considered as one of the necessary steps to integrate nature and built-
environment.

Fig. 1. Connectivity of Landscape at T3

Fig 2. Green Lobby (ASLA, 2009) Fig 3. Wedding Space in T3 (ASLA, 2009)

Second, the T3 terminal’s green walls – a giant multi-story vertical garden – and other vegetation communities,
designed by Singapore based Landscape Design firm Tierra Design, integrates natural performance and system into
the building (Figure 4). The "Green Wall", measuring five meters in height, contains hanging creepers and a waterfall
was incorporated to create the tropical mood (Figure 5). They also partially function as natural ventilation, filtration,
and temperature and humidity controls inside the building (ASLA, 2009). A number of researches have already found
support for some environmental and energy benefits to human environments in terms of microclimates (Dimoudi and
Nikolopoulou 2003, Gartland, 2008, Akbari 1997, McPherson 2002).

Fig 4. Section of T3 (Vincent, 2008)

 Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000 5
140 Ducksu Seo et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 56 (2021) 136–142

Fig 5. Vertical Garden (ASLA, 2009)

To enhance the in-door air quality and environmental conditions of T3, suitable plant species were tested and
selected for long-run sustainability (ASLA, 2009). In addition to meeting aesthetic aspects of ecological design, the
selection of ecologically responsive products included cost considerations. Landscaping is no longer a complement to
the architecture. It has played a significant role to complete the architecture. The remarkable introduction of vertical
gardens and their giant shaping is prominently situated in architecture components and is likely to set a precedent as
an exceptional case among airports around the world. This is a significant implication to break binary thinking and to
integrate not only landscape architecture and architecture, but also natural system and building performance.
Third, the interior landscape of T3 is based on integrating landscape and technologies. The idea of massive green
wall was able to be successfully installed and operated thanks to double-layer cable support system and unique roof
concept of ‘butterfly-winded’ skylights (Figure 6). The cable support units can be simply attached and detached from
the lattice and also control and maintain the vegetation efficiently (Vincent, 2008). For the vertical garden, a most
critical issue is to provide sufficient natural light to the vegetation for photosynthesis. The roof structure of 919
skylights was designed to allow natural light to penetrate into the building. While highly situated vegetation does not
a problem due to proximity to skylights, lowly positioned vegetation requires technological assistance to acquire
enough light. Perforated metal around catwalks serves to have more lights, and artificial light is to increase lux levels
for the plants (Vincent, 2008). The integration of nature and technologies enables to increase richness and diversity
of the airport. As Meyer defined the systemic integration as “a hybrid of machine and organism” or “cyborg” (Meyer,
1997) the interior landscape of Changi airport T3 would be called cyborg landscape.
 Ducksu Seo et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 56 (2021) 136–142 141
6 Ducksu Seo / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2019) 000–000

Fig 6. Vertical Tapestry with Water Feature and Baggage Carousel (ASLA, 2009)

5. Conclusion

Singapore Changi airport T3 is a project transcending dichotomous thinking, which has dominated the built-
environment. Through articulate collaboration with landscape architects, architects, and interior designer, they tried
to create new frontiers of design and culture in the airport design. Some can argue that the cyborg landscape sounds a
bit flamboyant for the interior landscape of T3. However, the interior landscaping presents a significant and innovative
design approach to mingle nature with the building and technology. The interior landscape of T3 is a systemic mixture
of the building and nature. The cyborg concept perceives a synthetic feedback dynamic through a systematic
integration of mechanical parts and the human body's natural mechanisms. Building performance is enhanced by the
synthetic feedback mechanisms between building, vegetation, and technology. In order to achieve thorough bio-
integration, the cyborg interior concept and design should be further developed with integrative thinking and
multidisciplinary approaches on the airport planning.

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