Issue link: https://resources.genetec.com/i/975339
Not far from the edges of the Black Sea, Istanbul New Airport will be the third airport built in Istanbul, after Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen. However, Atatürk will be closed once the new airport is fully operational. An architect's thoughts Istanbul has historically been the world's hub. With one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, it's where east meets, lives, and trades with west. A little more than 35 kilometers north of the city, construction is well underway on what is to become a new global hub – and the world's largest airport. Once complete, Istanbul New Airport will serve approximately 150 million passengers a year – roughly two times more than London Heathrow in 2016. Costing $11.3 billion, it will feature six runways, eight air-traffic control towers, 165 passenger boarding bridges, 500 airplane capacity, and rail-connected terminals that spread more than 70 million square feet. Originally planned as a replacement for the city's over-capacity Atatürk Airport, itself the fih busiest airport in Europe, the volatile security situation in Europe only served to highlight the need for more robust security at the new facility. It's a core requirement that has played a prominent role in the design of the new airport. Plans include extra space and bigger circulation areas in all check-in zones, as well as centralized services, and a whole host of innovative facilities to improve airline efficiency. e work being undertaken is designed to deliver a smarter, more exciting customer experience. It will be a new yardstick for technological innovation, including advances such as biometric self-service, augmented reality, smart kiosks, social-media-enabled services, iBeacons that provide indoor directions, and an Internet of ings framework that communicates with smart infrastructure to deliver a more effective user experience. Average retail spend per passenger at Istanbul Atatürk Airport was €15 in 2015, significantly outperforming the European average of €10.4. To ser ve what will be a significant increase in demand, the airport will provide passengers with the world's largest travel retail shopping environment, with more than 400 luxury brands and a uniquely Turkish shopping experience called 'City of Facets'. We talked to Gudmund Stokke, Principal Partner and Chairman of Nordic, one of the architect firms working on Istanbul New Airport. "With any airport, the most important thing is to design a structure that minimizes walking distances to ease the flow of passengers. Airports today depend on bringing in commercial revenue and, as a major hub, the retail potential in Istanbul is huge. Lots of people will come and dwell so we need to provide large areas for restaurants, duty-free, and retail outlets. To help people get there quickly, we planned the terminal so that passengers naturally reach the main commercial area as smoothly as possible. It means the airport gets the revenue it needs and we can create an atmosphere and environment where the traveling public – and the thousands of people working at the airport – feel comfortable. is will be the gateway to a fantastic world city, which has thousands of years of history. In Istanbul, rich culture and historical connotations exist alongside a sophisticated, technologically modern society. We want to express the old culture while simultaneously looking forward. We've done that by using light and shapes in the roof construction to give people the feeling they're arriving in the modern Istanbul. rough the use of space at the entrance, there will be room for crowds of people to move, and openings between buildings that immediately show people where to walk. I have a principle of trying to design 'a building that tells you where to walk '. I think we've achieved that. is airport will be incredibly important to the development of Turkey – for the nation, its economy, and, most importantly, for the people." The airport's first terminal will be the world's largest, with a floor area of about 1.3 million square meters. The four- phase, six runway development will open the first phase in 2018 and serve 90 million passengers per year. Big plans by the Black Sea 3 Airports 4 The future