Central hall of Abu Dhabi Airport
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Year 2008 Location Abu Dhabi, UAE Typology Pubblic space The central hall of Abu Dhabi airport has to be regarded as the main gate of the city. The way it introduces itself to the world. And the last image people leaving the city will take with them. It is a landmark. It must be representative of a particular place, Abu Dhabi, and its identity. As a consequence the project of the hall calls for a design identifiable with the actual airport. It has to be unique to Abu Dhabi. The landmark is represented by three key-elements. |
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The first one is a huge suspended ring. This is the main communication centre. The external part has a shiny LED skin and a line of screens to provide information about what’s on in Abu Dhabi, while the internal part includes 28 departure boards. Its shape is visible from every point of the hall, that’s why it provides an impression of confidence giving the sensation of never getting lost. It is a focal point. |
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To increase the magnetic influence of the centre we designed the hole. It is a circle in the ground made of LED lights that provide the sensation of water or any other materials flowing down to a central black hole. It has a powerful force of attraction. |
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It is both an emotional and metaphoric element that symbolizes Abu Dhabi city condition which is a key point of attraction for business, sport, culture and art. It underlines and complements the ring as a natural consequence. |
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To enhance the central elements we designed the background wall composed by modular aluminium elements. It has the same function as the theatre scenery of showing up the main actors. It is also a key element to control the atmosphere of the hall because one side is entirely covered by LED elements so it can both provide emotional feelings and commercial communication. It acts like a filter controlling light and noise, but as the same time it is transparent permitting a complete view of the entire hall. |
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The three key-elements interact with the existing structure but they are not intrusive. They are carefully suspended to render them unobtrusive but unmissable. In general our design respects the airport building. It respects the structural elements, respects the existing flow of movement, and respects the existing project purposes. |
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We used semitransparent elements both for walls and ceilings. Walls are suspended mostly three meters over the ground. This allows you to visibly embrace the whole structure and there is any obstruction to the movement of people. A serious analysis of the marketing concepts studied for the country of Abu Dhabi permit us to produce a project made to measure. It includes commercial aspects, emotional aspects and functional aspects. But they complement each others because the project is designed to run like clockwork. Respect is the central key-world of the Abu Dhabi brand, that’s why we integrated it in the design as a significant element. |
 Credits: Client: private investors Design team: Cristiana Favretto, Antonio Girardi, Guido Matta, Ferruccio Zavan. Structures: Studio Ingegneria Tiziano Bonato Collaborators: Matteo Astolfi, Stefano Grando, Fabio Ligresti, Luca Matta. |