DALAMAN AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TERMINAL

Built between 2004 and 2006, this airport facility of 130,000 square meter (nearly about 1,4 million square feet) was designed beginning in 1999. The architects sought to deal with the “boredom and feeling of emptiness” created by standard terminal buildings. They found their inspiration in the local climate, the surrounding landscape, and specific tourist activities.

The terminal was designed to accommodate a capacity of five million passengers who use the facility mostly in summer. The flow of arriving and departing passengers are handled on different floors, although “visual fluidity” between the different levels has been maintained.

The steel roof and concrete frame structure are separated and the terminal is equipped with a brise-soleil system that reduces energy consumption by 40 percent. Exposed concrete, natural wood and matte finishes signal an intentional rejection of the use of “shiny materials and glittering forms.” An unusual feature of the project is that a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT contract, which required that design and construction advance simultaneously.*

*by Philip Jodidio, EAA Emre Arolat Architects: Context and Plurality, Rizzoli New York, 2013.