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Lleida-Alguaire Airport
Lleida-Alguaire Airport
Alguaire, Spain
Other Projects by b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos
Lleida-Alguaire Airport
Alguaire, Spain
YEAR
2010
SIZE
500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft
BUDGET
$10M - 50M
The programme of requirements includes a terminal building,
a control tower, and two spaces for storages. Given their size, none of these
elements were obvious candidates to represent a new airport. The strategy
pursued therefore seeked to link the three programmes by means of a common
visual element that avoids the impression that a strange object has landed in
the fields of Lleida while also defining a recognisable landmark.
A large envelope element covers the building like a blanket,
drawing together its various functions and structures. This surface folds out
on either side of the control tower, tracing a marked curve that is the most
distinctive feature of the design.
Visual unit
The patchwork of finishes (plant-based, timber, and
lacquered micro-perforated steel sheet) offers a mix of textures and tones,
echoing the character of the surrounding agricultural landscape and linking the
airport to the territory where it is sited. A COR-TEN steel plate edge spans
the thickness of the roof, structure, and false ceiling layers, clearly
defining a thick plane that overhangs the façades.
Terminal passenger
A floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall delimits the passenger
area. Thanks to a system that supports the curtain wall from above, terminal
users have an unobstructed view at eye level. The deep overhang of the roof and
efficient solar control glass provide optimal solar protection without the need
for any additional elements. On the other hand, two opaque technical blocks,
understood as compact volumes covered by the higher order of the roof, house
areas that need to be separated from the open spaces.
Control tower
The control tower, a 42 meters high building,
is designed as a singular work that goes beyond the structure, encompassing and
integrating architecturally the projects of the terminal and the outbuildings. The
tower is linked to the other bodies by the folding of the roof, which creates a
double translucent skin that homogenises and protects interior openings. The
fanal of the control tower – whose geometry and materials cannot be varied – is
treated as one more technical element of the complex. The fact that the
architecture of the tower responds effectively to aeronautical, territorial and
landscape requirements sets the Alguaire Airport apart from most buildings of
this type.
Environmental features
The large roof structure that distinguishes the building is
also its main environmental feature. The various finishes provide thermal
inertia and ventilation in response to solar radiation; reinforced thermal
insulation minimises energy loss through the most sensitive plane of the
building; areas of vegetation provide a degree of continuity in terms of the
building’s footprint in the landscape; and the cantilever of the roof protects
the interior from direct exposure to the sun's rays.
a control tower, and two spaces for storages. Given their size, none of these
elements were obvious candidates to represent a new airport. The strategy
pursued therefore seeked to link the three programmes by means of a common
visual element that avoids the impression that a strange object has landed in
the fields of Lleida while also defining a recognisable landmark.
A large envelope element covers the building like a blanket,
drawing together its various functions and structures. This surface folds out
on either side of the control tower, tracing a marked curve that is the most
distinctive feature of the design.
Visual unit
The patchwork of finishes (plant-based, timber, and
lacquered micro-perforated steel sheet) offers a mix of textures and tones,
echoing the character of the surrounding agricultural landscape and linking the
airport to the territory where it is sited. A COR-TEN steel plate edge spans
the thickness of the roof, structure, and false ceiling layers, clearly
defining a thick plane that overhangs the façades.
Terminal passenger
A floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall delimits the passenger
area. Thanks to a system that supports the curtain wall from above, terminal
users have an unobstructed view at eye level. The deep overhang of the roof and
efficient solar control glass provide optimal solar protection without the need
for any additional elements. On the other hand, two opaque technical blocks,
understood as compact volumes covered by the higher order of the roof, house
areas that need to be separated from the open spaces.
Control tower
The control tower, a 42 meters high building,
is designed as a singular work that goes beyond the structure, encompassing and
integrating architecturally the projects of the terminal and the outbuildings. The
tower is linked to the other bodies by the folding of the roof, which creates a
double translucent skin that homogenises and protects interior openings. The
fanal of the control tower – whose geometry and materials cannot be varied – is
treated as one more technical element of the complex. The fact that the
architecture of the tower responds effectively to aeronautical, territorial and
landscape requirements sets the Alguaire Airport apart from most buildings of
this type.
Environmental features
The large roof structure that distinguishes the building is
also its main environmental feature. The various finishes provide thermal
inertia and ventilation in response to solar radiation; reinforced thermal
insulation minimises energy loss through the most sensitive plane of the
building; areas of vegetation provide a degree of continuity in terms of the
building’s footprint in the landscape; and the cantilever of the roof protects
the interior from direct exposure to the sun's rays.