Flexible Digital approach to

Flexible
Airport Terminal design

Sarah Shuchi
1

Presentation

Outline
Background and Introduction
Literature Review
Research questions
Research significance
Research Methodology
Research Progress

Background and

Introduction
Airports are 21st century buildings fluid space for fluid functions
using high technology architecture for spatial containment and
cultural expression -Brian Edwards

Airport is comprised of number interacting services and stakeholders

Technological advancement, changes in regulations, changes in terminal
facilities, etc have significant impact on design
Airport terminal is a complex system
To deal with it the term flexibility a prevalent concept
need to be incorporated in airport terminal deign.
A detail understanding of airport terminal operations, facilities
and their related space requirements facilitates architects and
planners
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Background and

Introduction

An integrated approach is required

Building Information Model (BIM) could provide some well-built
influences
BIM) provides digital representation of buildings with integrated
information in a digital format
The Airport Information Model (AIM) is considered to be an
extension of BIM
Proposed research will use BIM tools to facilitate initial design
process of flexible layouts

Research

Objective
The main objective is to understand and utilise role of flexible
design in airport terminals
The research will evaluate terminal space allocation for flexible
design layouts
Terminal facilities and corresponding space requirements will
be given the main focus of interest
The proposed research will focus on departing passenger
terminals in Australian context

Overview of

Literature review
BIM and relevance with proposed topic
Airport terminal design, operation and related facilities
Flexible design concept
Use of Business Process Models (BPM) and space layout
planning in terminal design

Design, Operation and Facilities

Airport design and operations are closely linked
Poor design affects airport operations- increased cost

Ticketing
Check- in
Security check
Claiming Baggage
Checking customs

Waiting
Loading and
unloading(both
passenger and
baggage)
3. Flight interface

Arriving
Departing
Parking
Circulating

2. Processing interface

Facility requirements depend on operations

1. Access interface

Airport Terminal:

Passenger terminal components (Horonjeff, McKelvey et al. 2010)

Airport Terminal:

Design requirements
Depends on number of traffic
Formulas for translating number of traffic into space requirement
is arithmetically simple
Anticipation of level of traffics depends on forecast
Forecast is unpredictable and unpredictable
Selection of configuration is a vital
issue, may cause economical losses,
for example, London Stansted Airport
(Odoni 2003)
And also causes operational
difficulties for example, Kansas City
Airport (Odoni 2003)
Kansas City Airport
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Airport Design

Configurations
Which configuration is the best?
Finger pier, Satellite, Midfield, Linear, Transporter or Hybrid ?

Finger pier

Satellit
e

Linear

Transport
er

Midfiel
d

Airport Design

Configurations
Which configuration is the best?

There is no single solution

Varies with- walking distances between facilities
- Arrangement of number of aircraft gates
Walking distances are prime Level Of Service
(LOS) measures, LOS varies with spaces

Finger pier at Brisbane International

Airport

Finger pier configuration is widely adopted

Hybrid configuration- more flexible
Linear configuration at Darwin
International Airport
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Airport Design

Simulation Based studies

A number researches have been conducted in the area of modelling airport
operations and performance evaluation
Fortran used to determine terminal facility requirement and dimensions
(Seeman 1970)

Other simulation tools such as SLAM, TRACKS, ARCPort, PAXSIM, OPAL

etc are used to evaluate operational performance.
Currently available tools could only measure existing design and
operational performances (Andreatta, Brunetta et al. 2007)

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Design and Concepts of

Flexibility

Flexible design is intend to respond in changing situations and

operations (Kronenburg, 2007)
The concept of flexible terminal design has given emphasis by
many researchers (Edwards 2005; de Naufville and Odoni 2003)
Airport terminal should be capable of multiple adaptation of
future expansions
Three major design possibilities of flexible terminals developments (Odoni, 2003):
1.
2.
3.

Connected buildings
Temporary facilities
Shared used facilities

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Flexibility in

Airport Design
The overall perspective to achieve flexibility depends on large range of
factors- economic shifts, regulatory changes, uncertainty in forecast etc
(de Neufville and Odoni 2003)
Functional effectiveness and flexibility in terminal design can be
analysed under space, function and time (ACRP 25 2010)

Examples of flexible terminal design

Vancouver International Airport

Large open hall divided by glass panel in spaces
Easy accommodation of short and long term
shifting pattern of traffic
Vancouver International Airport
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Airport Terminal and

Inflexible Designs

The landmark building of new New York

opened in 1962
But the building eventually closed in 2001
when American Airlines bought TWA
TWA Terminal, aerial view at left and interior at right (The
Huffington Post 2011)

Open plan interior

Inflexible structural configuration made
future expansion more difficult
London Stansted Airport, aerial view at left and open plan
interior at right (Foster+Partners)
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Flexibility and

Modular Airport Design

Modular approach considered to achieve structural flexibility
(Edwards 2007)

Modular approach- expandable and flexible facilities

Southampton Airport, UK
50% cost of legacy airport
Quick construction
Southampton International Airport, UK

Southampton International Airport, UK

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Flexibility and

Modular Airport Design

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

Simple concept
Series of modular terminal
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok

Kitakyushu Airport, Japan

Functionally simple
Easy expandable modular roof structure
Modular roofing at Kitakyushu Airport, Japan
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Airport Design and

Space Layout Planning

The relationship exists between space and function assists to

achieve spatial flexibility (Edwards 2005)
Space layout planning and its form generation approach has been
examined by many researchers (Humayouni, Eastman 1975, Fraser 1995)
The elements are closely linked are tend to stay closely
The movement of passenger between facilities provide key
information for space layout

The hierarchy of activities (Lee et al, 2007)

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Airport Design and

Business Process Model (BPM)

Business process is a collection of activities designed to produce

specific output for a stakeholder (The Enterprise Architects 2004)
It also describes how the activities within a process are connected
Evaluation of business process is equally important as well as the
standard or formulas
Movement of passengers in airport provides key information

Workflow modelling (Lee et al, 2007)

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Overview of

Building Information Model (BIM)

BIM is a digital representation of buildings, also known as a standard digital
information storage area
BIM consists of two type of information Building elements and
relationship of elements
BIM also incorporates accessibility, energy saving, costing etc
BIM also works as communication media between stakeholders
Conventional CAD approach
and BIM approach
ArchiCAD, Autodesk Revit,
Tekla, Bently

: A comparison

between conventional CAD and new approaches to BIM

A comparison between conventional CAD and new approaches to BIM ( Azhar et al, 2010)
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Use of BIM in

Construction Industry
More accurate visualisation
Collaboration in multiple design disciplines
Automatic and real time scheduling of spaces using room/area tool
Multi disciplinary clash detection system
Automated scheduling and estimation
Optimise construction sequencing

Automatic clash detection(Nadeem et al , 2008)

Automated estimation(Nadeem et al , 2008)

Construction sequencing model (Gammon

Construction Ltd , KH)

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BIM used in

Airport Design

Airport expansion project in India

Design-to steel fabrication project using
Tekla BIM software
Reduced material wastage by 3.5%-4%
Chennai Airport expansion model using TEKLA
(TEKLA 2010)

Design solution for enhancement of

baggage handling system
Accurate representation of structure
Co-ordination of huge number of drawings
BIM model of Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International
Airport (INTERLIBUILD)
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Summery of

Literature
Anticipation of forecast is unpredictable
A visionary approach required to deal with unpredictable future
Researchers have identified the importance of flexible terminal
design but practical implementation is yet to be discovered
No evidence of utilising modelling techniques to identify flexible
layouts
Use of BIM tools in airport design is still limited
Utilisation of business process in design is evident

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Research

Questions
How can BIM tools support spatial flexibility in airport terminal
design and operations?
How can Business Process Models(BPM) help to determine spatial
relationships within various operational activities?
How spatial layouts can be generated for both greenfield and
brownfield sites?

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Research

Significance
Investigate the role of flexibility in airport terminal design

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Research

Contribution
Investigate and utilise BIM technology in airport design
Supplement domain information to provide a Airport Information
Model
The proposed research expects to utilise space layout planning
tools to provide flexible yet feasible design layouts
The research outcomes will assist architects/designers to
understand and manage the interdependencies among various
passenger activities

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Research

Methodology flowchart

Phase 1

Literature
review

Onsite-case study
analysis

Indentify preliminary
design parameters

Phase 2

Create BIM models

Business
process models

Hierarchical
breakdown of spaces

Define processes for

layout generation

Inputs from other AotF

streams

Define design metrics

Phase 3

Form generation by
research assistant
Airport Layouts
Analysis of
algorithmic metrics

Design guidelines

AIM/BIM
guidelines

AIM/BIM
specifications
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Research Methodology
Onsite case study
analysis

Phase 1
Both international and domestic terminals around Australia
- Brisbane, Perth, Gold Coast, Melbourne,
Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton Airport
Case studies have been selected based on three
categories

Business Process
Models

Help to understand the passenger process in departure

terminal

Departure activities in Brisbane international Airport (Mazhar

2009)
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Research Methodology

Phase 1
Terminal facilities

Preliminary Design parameters

Design parameters will assists to
determine relationships among
passenger activities and space

Terminal entry
Processing areas

Circulation

Spatial Hierarchy
Identify spatial relationship
and hierarchical breakdown
of departure
terminal
activities

Selected preliminary design parameters

Wayfinding

Discretionary activities

Waiting/meeting

Design parameters
Entry from public
transports
Curb side entry
Entry hall
Check-in area
Security
Customs and immigration
Boarding
Ramp
Stair
Elevator
Escalator
Automated people mover
Signage
Pamphlet
Map
Cafe and restaurant
Speciality shops
News agent
Ticket counters
Toilet facilities
Money exchange
Tax refund scheme
Internet Kiosks
Water fountain
Phone booths
Seating area

Design attributes

Queuing space
Location
Service space

Location
Orientation (position of
the design
elements/functions in
respect to the other

Location
Adjacency (of spaces
according to the related
functions)
Orientation
Corridor space

Location
Number of seating

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Research Methodology

Phase 3

Identify spatial relationships

Space layout
planning methods

To determine flexible design layouts

Network Method
Craft Method
Aims to determine the relative location of functional units
Evolutionary
approach
Generates a list of possible configurations using hueristic
algorithm

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Research Methodology

Phase 3

Network Method

Relationship matrix and corresponding diagrammatic layout (Whitehead

and Eldars 1965)

One of the early methods of using computers to find out

generative design layout
The relationship between spaces represented by the
number of journeys in between them
The activities are presented in a relationship matrix

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Research Methodology

Phase 3

Evolutionary
approach
Aims to evolutionary approach of nature in built environment
Approach architecture as a form of artificial life and
propose a genetic representation in a form of DNA-like
code script
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Research

Progress
Case study : Brisbane International Airport

Identified spatial hierarchy at check-in facilities at

Brisbane Airport
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Research

Timeline
Time Elapsed (in months)
PhD Milestones

12

15

18

21

24

27

30

33

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Stage 2
Confirmation
Annual progress
Final seminar
Course work
AIRS
Research phase
Literature review
P
H
A
S
E
1

On-Site case study analysis

Selection of preliminary design parameters
IDENTIFY SPATIAL RELATIONSHIP
CREATE BIM MODELS

P
H
A
S
E
2

LEARN SOFTWARE (REVIT)

DEFINE PROCESSES FOR LAYOUT
GENERATOR
INPUT FROM OTHER AOTF STREAMS

33

Research Progress

Brisbane International Airport

Discretionary
at Brisbane
Departurefacilities
Check-in
hallactivities
at Brisbane
at Brisbane
Airport
Airport
Airport
Identified spatial hierarchy at check-in facilities at
Brisbane Airport
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Research Progress

Brisbane International Airport

Entry Lobby
Check-in
Discretionary spaces

Security
Customs
Boarding and circulation

Revit Model of departure activities at Brisbane

Airport
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Research

Conclusion

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