Passenger Terminal Today
  • News
    • A-C
      • Accessibility
      • Baggage
      • Biometrics
      • Boarding
      • Check in
      • Construction & Architecture
      • Covid-19
      • CSR
    • D-L
      • Displays & Signage
      • Expo
      • Food & Beverage
      • Ground Support
      • IT & Software
      • Lighting
      • Lounge
    • M-R
      • Operations
      • Parking
      • Passenger Experience
      • Personnel
      • Regulation & Policy
      • Retail
    • S-Z
      • Seating
      • Security
      • Self-service
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Terminal
      • Wayfinding
      • Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • Showcase 2024
    • September 2023
    • June 2023
    • April 2023
    • January 2023
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Events
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Passenger Terminal Today
  • News
      • Accessibility
      • Baggage
      • Biometrics
      • Boarding
      • Check in
      • Construction & Architecture
      • Covid-19
      • CSR
      • Displays & Signage
      • Expo
      • Food & Beverage
      • Ground Support
      • IT & Software
      • Lighting
      • Lounge
      • Operations
      • Parking
      • Passenger Experience
      • Personnel
      • Regulation & Policy
      • Retail
      • Seating
      • Security
      • Self-service
      • Sustainability
      • Technology
      • Terminal
      • Wayfinding
      • Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. Showcase 2025
    4. September 2024
    5. June 2024
    6. Subscribe Free
    Featured
    April 2, 2025

    April 2025 issue is now available online!

    Online Magazines By Web Team
    Recent

    April 2025 issue is now available online!

    April 2, 2025

    January 2025 issue is now available online!

    December 11, 2024

    Passenger Terminal World Showcase 2025

    November 12, 2024
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Events
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Passenger Terminal Today
Features

Green wing

Kirstie PickeringBy Kirstie PickeringFebruary 20, 20154 Mins Read

In August 2014, architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) were finally granted planning permission for the construction of an East Wing at Geneva Airport in Switzerland. The new US$326m facility would replace the existing building constructed in the 1970s as a temporary structure to serve non-Schengen long-haul flights.

“It’s really about passenger comfort and providing six contact stands for long-haul, wide-body aircraft,” said Dennis Austin, associate partner at RSHP. “It’s also about bringing Geneva onto a level playing field with Zurich, a bit of inter Swiss competition, if you will. The airport has a lot of relationships with the Middle East and North America so it’s a facility long overdue.”

However, the process of getting to the second design development phase has not been straightforward and has involved several redesigns and resubmissions to the appropriate aviation authorities.

“When we released the new design in November 2013, the airport immediately decided that its operational needs required less of the Schengen/non-Schengen flexibility. So we spent a lot of 2014 revising the scheme to remove all of the Schengen stands and facilities, which took a lot of cost out of the project as well.

“The airport decided that they were never going to be a significant hub, so their wish-list for transferring these types of passengers to these types of flights would never really come to fruition.”

The resulting design created a seamless 430,500ft2 facility with wide-open spaces, easy wayfinding and large glazed glass façades that make full use of the natural light.

“Essentially the redesign removed Level 2, which used to be the Schengen facility. It reinforced the diagram of the building as a single-level departure, so Level 1 is all about departing

passengers and Level 2 is nothing but

a high-level arrival corridor. Arriving passengers never really enter the building. They enter a valve and are injected immediately onto Level 2. We removed an enormous amount of floor plate for Level 2, which created a larger volume in the building and created a better experience for arriving passengers.”

As part of the original design brief,

RSHP had to ensure that the East Wing contained a number of innovative design features. The buildings close proximity to neighboring complexes meant that they had to deal with a number of building restrictions and strict energy performance laws meant that the building had to be energy efficient.

“The competition was quite clear, the site was incredibly constrained. Literally 1.5m off the rear façade of the building is a series of buildings that are part of a landside campus. There’s also an office building behind us that houses IATA’s headquarters and they have ‘rights of light’ demands.

“Our solution was two-fold. First and most importantly we lifted the building up by one level so that the Route de Ferney, the Swiss-French connecting road, could pass underneath us as it does with the rest of the building. We also leaned the building by 26° toward the aircraft away from the adjacent office building to give them enhanced daylight.”

When it came to addressing the environmental footprint of the new building, RSHP implemented a series of innovative methods and technologies that combine to create an energy neutral building. This includes installing 110 geothermal piles for heating and cooling, 43,000ft2 of photovoltaic panels on the roof, LED lighting throughout, and low water consumption via methods such as rainwater harvesting. The architects are also using locally sourced and sustainable materials wherever possible.

“Every aspect of our electrical needs, FIDS, retail, all of our 19 hour per day lighting systems, all of our horizontal and vertical transportation systems, all of our needs, will be produced by our energy-gathering systems.

“We will sell a bit of power back to the grid, and from time to time we will take from the grid, but we are standalone. In case of major failure we have our own generators; the back-up battery power for all our equipment is at least 72 hours.”

The result is that RSHP and the rest of the RBI-T consortium responsible for the project can now look to the future and can remain optimistic when entering the second development phase. They are set to issue contracts to complete the rest of the foundation and roadworks in February 2016, and will issue contracts for the construction of the East Wing building in November 2016.

Interview by Daniel Symonds

Images copyright of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. Lead designer – Graham Stirk

February 20, 2015

Share. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
Previous ArticleExpansion plans on schedule for Ivalo Airport in Finland
Next Article Renovation of LaGuardia Airport to be delayed by three months

Related Posts

Features

EXCLUSIVE FEATURE: How digital identity credentials are creating a new era of air travel

May 7, 20257 Mins Read
Features

EXCLUSIVE FEATURE: How effective are today’s approaches to neurodivergent airport passengers?

April 22, 202512 Mins Read
Features

SUPPLIER INTERVIEW: Marcus Reifenstahl, key account manager for building automation, Dunkermotoren

April 16, 20254 Mins Read
Latest News

Glasgow Airport unveils £5m electric bus fleet

May 9, 2025

Fresno Yosemite expands security checkpoint

May 9, 2025

DFW Airport and American Airlines expand Terminal F plans and increase investment to US$4bn

May 8, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Getting in Touch
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Notice & Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT