A consortium consisting of MAD, Civil Aviation Airport Planning and Design Research Institute Co., Ltd., and Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd. won the "Changchun Longjia International Airport T3 Terminal Architectural Proposal and Terminal Area Planning International Competition" project.

The terminal building is designed like a floating feather, light and flowing. The design combines a unique fan-shaped layout and the concept of "large flat floor" to create an artistic, humane and convenient garden airport. The long curve of the roof truly reflects the movement lines and space inside the airport. It is simple and dynamic, and is also known as "Crane Dancing in Changchun".

Ma Yansong said: "The future large-scale transportation hub is first and foremost an important public space in the city. Art, integration, diversity and humanity are all important."

Changchun Airport currently has two terminals, T1 and T2, with an annual throughput of 16 million passengers. The T3A terminal, whose design has been announced and is about to be built, will have 54 close-in parking stands and is expected to accommodate an annual throughput of 22 million passengers. The T3A plan also reserves sufficient planning and design space for the future expansion of the T3B terminal.

Adapting to local conditions and respecting the site

The T3 terminal area base is located in the southern area bounded by the high-speed railway Longjia Station, and the overall terrain is low-lying. The design conforms to the terrain, setting the original floor as the first floor of the terminal (arrival floor), and then adopting a three-dimensional layout and multi-layered port entry mode to connect high-speed rail, subway, road and other transportation modes. Such design planning not only saves land and reduces earthwork, but also cleverly uses height differences to achieve cross-connection of different transportation modes.

Mu Tong, chief planner of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, mentioned: "As a link for the conversion of airport ground-to-air services, the terminal has always had a simple and plain design main line, that is, to build an integrated transfer system with a high degree of integration of multiple transportation modes, create a convenient and humanized passenger building process, and provide a safe and efficient aircraft operation site."

Air-rail integration, simplified transfer

Longjia Station of Changji Intercity Railway is an existing station located between Changchun and Jilin. In 2018, nearly one-third of passengers entered and exited the airport via high-speed rail. As the proportion of rail transit gradually increases, intercity rail will be the main mode of transportation in and out of Changchun Airport. The design of T3A terminal will bring the main building of the terminal as close to the high-speed railway station as possible, and the central entrance and exit of the main building is only 200 meters away from the east expansion hall of Longjia Station.

The parking building is located between the terminal building and the high-speed railway station, connected by a fully glass indoor corridor. Passengers can walk less than 50 meters from here to the terminal building. The subway is arranged under the viaduct in front of the T3A terminal building. The subway station hall and the central space of the terminal building are completely integrated, and there is no transfer between the subway and the airport.

Li Shaokun, deputy chief architect of Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd., said: "Our design integrates process handling, commercial facilities, regional culture, humanistic experience, and green landscape to create an aviation hub space where "rail transit and air travel are integrated, and functional processes and spatial experience complement each other". It is people-oriented and effectively improves the passenger transfer and air travel experience."

Efficient "large flat floor"

The new terminal adopts a three-finger corridor configuration with arc-shaped enclosure, forming a harmonious overall layout with the T1 and T2 terminal areas. The center of the terminal enclosure points to the direction of the high-speed railway Longjia Station; and the radial finger corridors are stretched and orderly, and the scientific angle setting fully increases the number of close-in aircraft stands while also ensuring the efficiency of port operations.

The terminal building adopts a variety of streamline layout modes for domestic mixed flow and international diversion. The plan innovatively sets up a "large flat floor" concept that mainly connects the passenger flow of the high-speed railway Longjia Station, while conveniently connecting to the subway, roads, parking buildings and other streamlines.

Regardless of the mode of transportation, passengers without checked baggage can go directly to the boarding gate in the "large flat" through self-service check-in, smart security check and other smart airport facilities. Arriving passengers can also connect to various transportation tools through the large flat after arrival. Passengers going to the high-speed rail and parking building can go directly to the high-speed rail station entrance and parking building drop-off area without getting on or off.

Garden city, green airport

The design of the new terminal pays great attention to the combination of nature and innovative technology to create a comfortable and natural "garden airport".

The design uses a feather-like lighting roof to introduce natural light into the departure hall, making the interior space bright and warm. The structural system continues the rhythm of the building's surface, clearly expresses the force transmission logic, and converges to the center together with the skylight, naturally guiding the direction of passengers' travel. The unique wooden ceiling, skylight, structure, and light combine to create a vibrant interior space.

The design also focuses on how to present the charm of Changchun as a "garden city" through landscape planning. The outdoor landscape area is dominated by forests, lakes, meadows, and undulating terrain; while the indoor garden system that combines trees, ground covers, and water features creates a "cold zone garden" that conforms to the city's temperament. The new terminal also ensures the realization of a green airport by adding floor radiant heating in public areas, multi-layer insulation structure of metal roofs, high thermal performance glass curtain walls, electric dimming glass skylights, shading systems, natural lighting and ventilation, and other green technology means.

Changchun Airport T3 Terminal
Changchun, China

Terminal area: 177.6 hectares Building area: about 270,000 square meters
Project solicitor: Jilin Civil Aviation Airport Group Co., Ltd.
Project consortium: Civil Aviation Airport Planning and Design Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd.

MAD team
Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Hayano Yosuke, Liu Huiying, Li Jian, Sun Shouquan, Sun Mingze, Song Minzhe, Wang Fei, Lu Zihao, Xiao Yuhan, Chen Wei, Cao Xi, Yoshio Fukumori

CAAC team
Mu Tong, Yao Huilai, Feng Xiangling, Sun Yongxue, Yao Yuan, Xu Junjie, Zhang Bao, Zhang Yan, Shen Xin, Qi Junjie, Hao Wenjia, Liu Zihao, Xu Ke, Li Zhennan, Feng Mengyao, Li Xiong, Zheng Guangshun, Shan Yi, Lu Xin, Li Henghui

Beijing Construction Institute team
Wang Xiaoqun, Shu Weinong, Wang Yizhi, Li Shaokun, Su Yao, Wu Di, Wang Yisu, Wang Bin, Ren Jie, Zhang Zhongqi, Zhang Linyi, Chen Lin, Gu Xianliang, Mu Yang, Fan Shixing, Wang Hanmo, Zhang Shizhong, Yu Xinqiao, Zhang Shirui, Pan Ming