Bao'an Int. Airport Shenzhen

Shenzhen

structural engineering, facade design, special structures Services

Massimiliano Fuksas Architect

Parametrically developed three dimensionally folded façade, spatial steel structure and three-storey solid construction

Project

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is located in the south-east of China and is the fourth largest airport in China after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. A special feature of the airport is that it combines air, sea and land transportation due to its location on the Pearl River Delta. The airport serves as a hub for Shenzhen Airlines. Terminal 3 opened in 2013 and, with a length of 1.6 km, complements the existing the existing airport in the city of 12 million by 78 gates. The architectural design envisages approx. 300,000 m² of organically shaped façade made of honeycomb elements. The steel structure with a span of up to 80 m and 450,000 rods is an integral part of this double-skin multifunctional building envelope and follows the diamond pattern.

Parametrically developed three-dimensional folded aluminum façade, inclined steel/glass façade

Construction folded aluminum façade and construction steel/glass façades.

The structural framework and facade are based on a shared geometric system. The honeycomb-shaped facade elements of the outer and inner facade are each connected at the node points of the diamond-shaped steel framework. The curved shape of the building envelope and varying degrees of openness required a parametric development of the facade elements. Parameters such as daylight and energy input as well as architectural aspects were used to generate the structure of the approximately 60,000 panels.

Spatial steel construction with very large spans as roof and façade. Parametrically developed free-form steel structure with solid substructure.

Construction of spatial steel structure

The steel structure in the concourses consists of primary radially arranged twin bracings, which are spaced 18 meters apart and connected in a linear, floating manner to a console. From there, the load is transferred through free-formed sculptural reinforced concrete columns. Between the twin bracings, a diamond-shaped structure is arranged, which becomes a space frame through diagonals between the outer and inner layers. In the terminal area, the structure is generally continued, but the diamond-shaped structure connects to an orthogonal support structure at a 36-meter grid. Sculptural steel columns are arranged in these areas.

Parametric development of the free-form facade and structural framework.

Parametric Design

A programming in "RhinoScript" was developed, which largely automated the generation of the geometry for both the structural framework and the facade. The basis for this was a "panel layout," in which information about the glass percentage and the installation angle of the glazing was defined. The parametric tool then extracted the coordinates of all system points of the panels into an Excel file. In a subsequent step, Rhino surface models were generated from the Excel coordinates for visual inspection and further simulations. Due to the extremely large amount of data, the building was divided into six parts and into the inner and outer facade. The geometric information was provided in the form of line models and coordinate lists for execution.