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Zaha Hadid Architects has released images of the now-completed terminal building at Beijing Daxing International Airport, the city's second international airport and the largest single-structure airport terminal in the world. Located in the Daxing district 46 kilometres south of the Chinese capital's city centre, the massive starfish-shaped terminal will serve approximately 45 million passengers per year, with that number jumping to 72 million by 2025.
The major transport hub was developed to ease congestion at Beijing's existing airport. The 700,000-square-metre terminal includes an 80,000-square-metre ground transportation centre that offers direct links to Beijing, which is accessible within 20 minutes by express train.
The sparkling white space echoes the principles of traditional Chinese architecture, organizing areas around a central multi-layered courtyard. The undulating forms of the vaulted roof descend to support the structure, while numerous skylights carved into the ceiling provide an ample supply of natural light.
The airport's radial design, featuring five aircraft piers, facilitates convenient travel by minimizing distances from check-in to gate, allowing aircraft to be parked directly at the building. With the help of 79 gates and airbridges, passengers of six full A380 aircraft can be rapidly processed. The building's configuration means that the farthest boarding gate can be reached on foot within eight minutes.
Beijing Daxing International Airport is also outfitted with solar panels, and centralized heating and rainwater collection systems. A further planned expansion will allow the airport to accommodate up to 100 million annual passengers.
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