Kansai International Airport Terminal - SKETCHLINE

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1988 - 1994

Kansai International Airport Terminal

author

Renzo Piano

description

  1. For construction, an artificial island was created, which is connected to the land by a 3.75 km bridge;
  2. The initial metaphors of architecture were the themes of waves and flight: created in the form of a single tunnel filled with sunlight, the fuselage of an enormous aircraft, with a roof profile, overlaps the space with a wave. The design is very light to avoid soil subsidence;
  3. To avoid subsidence, the ventilation was attached to the ceiling, and the structure itself was installed on computerized columns that are able to detect subsidence, which in such casesallows the column to be raised to the required level.
  4. Standard structural elements are repeated, giving the structure a soft outline;
  5. The contours of structural elements also change in accordance with the geometry of the building;
  6. The length of the perspective that opens along the structure fills it with air and visually expands the space.