Two years ago, Zurich Airport, which opened in the 1950s, launched an international design competition to replace the aging Dock A—the airport’s largest dock. The winning design is led by BIG, with HOK as the aviation architect. The new Dock A—including gates, retail, lounges, offices, a new air traffic control tower, and an extension of the immigration hall—is slated to open by 2032.
The seven-floor Dock A will have two main areas: a central hub with shopping, airport services for arriving and departing passengers, and vertical circulation; and a pier with the gates, waiting areas, and fixed links connecting to the planes. The control tower will be placed in the building’s center.
Dock A’s structure, floors, and ceilings will be made primarily with mass timber. A renewable local resource, this material will allow for prefabrication during the construction process—while also nodding to the Swiss tradition of wood construction. The building’s V-shaped timber columns not only provide structural support but also reference Switzerland’s iconic mountains and pitched roofs.
“As airports grow and evolve and as international guidelines and safety requirements change, airports tend to become more and more complex: Frankensteins of interconnected elements, patches and extensions,” Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director, BIG, said in a statement. “For the new main terminal of Zurich Airport, we have attempted to answer this complex challenge with the simplest possible response: a mass timber space frame that is structural design, spatial experience, architectural finish, and organizational principle in one.”
The long, sculptural roof will be covered with PV panels. Integrated shading will reduce solar heat gain and maintenance requirements. And the building will use a combination of water and air-based cooling and heating systems.
The “simple yet expressive design,” Ingels added, embodies “the cultural and natural elements of Swiss architecture.”
On the building team:
Owner: Zurich Airport
Design lead: BIG
Aviation architect: HOK
Local architect: 10:8
Structural engineer: Buro Happold
Structural engineer timber/building physics: Pirmin Jung Schweiz AG
Mechanical engineer: Haerter & Partner AG
Electrical engineer: TLP
Construction management: Baurealisation
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 90 Construction Management Firms for 2022
CBRE, Alfa Tech, Jacobs, and Hill International head the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 200 Contractors for 2022
Turner Construction, STO Building Group, Whiting-Turner, and DPR Construction top the ranking of the nation's largest general contractors, CM at risk firms, and design-builders for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 80 Engineering Firms for 2022
Kimley-Horn, Tetra Tech, Langan, and NV5 head the rankings of the nation's largest engineering firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 21, 2022
Top 110 Architecture/Engineering Firms for 2022
Stantec, HDR, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 20, 2022
Top 180 Architecture Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, HKS, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Airports | Jul 18, 2022
FAA will award nearly $1 billion for airport projects
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award nearly $1 billion to 85 airports of all sizes across the country to improve terminals.
Airports | Jul 8, 2022
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport’s new terminal prioritizes passenger experience and sustainability
McCarthy Building Companies recently completed construction of the final concourse in Terminal 4 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Airports | Jul 7, 2022
Love at first flight: The power of first impressions in airports
As architects, how we design a terminal and choreograph the passenger experience can stir up strong feelings.
Airports | Jun 2, 2022
SOM-designed International Arrival Facility at Seattle’s Sea–Tac airport features the world’s largest aerial walkway
The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)-designed International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has opened, replacing a 50-year-old arrival facility.
