A Modern Jet Set at Oslo Airport, designed by Nordic

It would be nice to go back to a time when air travel of any kind was a privilege and a luxury, and passengers were treated in that respect.

During the past few decades, as air travel became both more affordable and a necessary evil for people around the globe, the airline consumer experience has steadily deteriorated. Airlines have been able to take advantage of consumers with everything from pricing to policy standards.

But, the air travel industry is officially in the hot seat (we’re looking at you, United!). Travelers are calling for more transparency in pricing and higher quality care and attention to customer experience.

The relationship between airlines and airports is a complicated landscape as well. Who is at the mercy of whom? Both entities play a large part in how people get from A to B.

Gorgeous airport design and architecture is, of course, relatively easy to come by. A design that blends beauty with the highest levels efficiency and sustainability, however, is much harder to find.

And so we head to Norway, a place we could reach by flying into Oslo Airport.

Originally designed by the Nordic-Office of Architecture in 1998, Oslo Airport needed to increase capacity from 19 million passengers per year to accommodate 35 million passengers per year.

“Oslo airport is one of the most energy efficient airports in the world, so it was important for Nordic to think in terms of a sustainable extension,” details the project brief. “The shape of the building takes advantage of passive solar energy and sunlight, and features low-carbon technologies like district heating and natural thermal energy.”

“‘We let the existing structure inspire, not inhibit our thinking or restrict our ideas – we wanted to create something that would be perceived as new,’” said Christian Henriksen, architect and partner at Nordic, in the project brief.

Across a 115,000 square foot expansion that doubles the size of the existing terminal building, Nordic provided services for planning and designing airside and landside areas, expanding the existing terminal, and adding a new “pier.”

While continuing the rational simplicity of the original airport design, Nordic focused on the pier as the key new design element. Constructed with curved glulam beams (glued laminated timber, a type of structural engineered wood product comprising a number of layers of dimensioned lumber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives) and cladded with oak, the 300m long pier “creates an efficient and flexible passenger flow by siting domestic and international areas one on top of the other, allowing all travellers to use all gates.”

Among the project’s new design elements aimed at enhancing passenger comfort and wellbeing, highlights include:

>A holistic approach to sustainability that features: the harvesting of as much onsite energy as possible. Snow from the runways will be collected and stored during wintertime in an onsite depot to be used as coolant during the summer. The project has achieved the world’s first BREEAM “Excellent” sustainability rating for an airport building.

>Natural materials blanket the space: the new pier is entirely clad in timber sourced from Scandinavian forests. Recycled steel and special, environmentally friendly, concrete mixed with volcanic ash has been used throughout. By choosing environmentally friendly materials, the building’s CO2 emissions were reduced by 35%.

>Enhanced levels of insulation mean the project has achieved Passive House level performance standards. Energy consumption in the new expansion has been cut by more than 50% compared to the existing terminal.

>Artificial lighting is designed only as a minimal supplement to high levels of natural daylight, and can be set to reflect different moods according to weather, season and time of day.

>An improved passenger flow featuring a maximum walking distance of 450m, far shorter than most airports.

>An update to the existing train station, which sits at the heart of the airport, enables 70% of all passengers to access the airport by public transit.

>The compact layout of the building, transparency and open spaces enhance visual legibility and wayfinding, providing reassurance and peace of mind for travellers. A panoramic window at the north end of the pier, a 300-metre long skylight and curved glazed windows on both sides open up the view to the surrounding landscape and beyond.

>Green walls and water features, suggestive of Scandinavian forests, enhance the experience for passengers as they move through the terminal. The retail units in duty free areas have been conceived as organic stone forms associated with Norwegian landscapes.

Nordic is continuing its exceptional work in airport design at breakneck pace; the practice is currently working on 10 airport projects in seven different countries, including the landmark Istanbul New Airport, due to open in 2018 as the largest airport in the world.