Flexible airport terminal design towards a framework

Flexible

Sarah Shuchi, PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology

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Supervisor: Prof. Robin Drogemuller

Flexible Airport Terminal Design: Towards a Framework

Presentation Outline

• Flexibility in building design

• Significance in airport design

• Flexibility in airport terminal design

• Flexible Design Framework (flexDF)

• Flexible design concept

• Design strategies

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http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/contemporary_airport_design.html

Concept of Flexibility

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Flexible design accommodates potential movement or change

• Building design – allows to create spaces that anticipate complex and changing requirements of human needs

• Systems design – ability to modify the mode of operation

• Manufacturing – ability to change the volume, the speed of delivery or to add new product lines

• Network design – allows to add new nodes or to make new connections between nodes

Flexibility in Building design

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Flexible building

AdaptationMovabilityTransformationInteraction

Simple construction

Technological consideration

Suitable use of space

Significance of Flexible design

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Manages uncertainty

• Standard design practice based on forecast.

•Forecast is unreliable.•Allows phases to build, manages future uncertainty.

Less Expensive

• Reduce the risk of expensive change.

•Avoid future downside risk

Extends lifecycle of buildings

• Assists to adapt with future changes.

• Longer and more efficient service life

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Step 1Recognise uncertainties

Step 2Identify areas of uncertainty

Step 3Evaluate alternatives

Step 4 Implementation

Flexible Design Strategies• Four-step process for developing design flexibility (de Neufville and Scoltes 2011)

Significance of Flexible Airport

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• Airport design is ‘Complex’

• Facilitates complex interactions among airline, aircraft and airport authorities

Aircraft design

Airport authorities

Airline companies

Plane

TerminalPassenger

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Flexibility VS Inflexibility

19671920 2001Schiphol International Airporthttp://www.schiphol.nl/SchipholGroup/Company1/Profile.htm

• The inherent flexibility allows efficient operation for nearly a century

• Steady and constant growth

• Phases of construction

• No site constraint

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• The landmark building of New York opened in 1962• The building eventually closed in 2001 when American Airlines bought TWA• Radical and compact plan• High cost of restoration• Limited option for alteration

TWA terminal, JFK Airport

Flexibility VS Inflexibility

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Shearing layers of Flexible design• Buildings are complex - composed of a number of interacting layers

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Proposed shearing layers of Airport design

• Terminal as a series of layers and the activities within it is a system

• Influence of shearing layers in terminal design

Operational

Strategic

Tactical

Stuff

Space plan

Service

Skin

Structure

Site

Spatial layout

Physical structure

Shearing layers of airport terminal

Developing a conceptual Framework

flexible Design Framework (flexDF)

Changes occur according spatial layout and physical

structure

Changes occur according to time period

Changes occur within various building layers

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Developing a conceptual Framework

Identify areas of uncertainty

Step 1

Terminal facilities

Identify flexible design elements

Step 2

Design elements

Design constraints

Evaluate flexible design alternatives

Step 4

Space

Function

Time

Design development

Step 3

Design layouts

Design implementation

Step 5

Strategies

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Flexible Design Framework (flexDF)STEP 1Identify areas of uncertainty to incorporate flexibility

Identify “Shearing layers of change”

Spatial Layout

Physical structur

e

Changes according to timescale

Strategic

STEP 2Identify flexible design elements

Design elements of various terminal

facilities

Classify passenger activities to

determine spatial requirements

Identify design constraints

STEP 3Design Development

Propose preliminary design layouts

STEP 4Evaluate flexible design alternatives

Evaluate design alternatives

Space

STEP 5Design Implementation

Identify implementation

strategies

Post implementation evaluation and

modification

Review

Recognise relationships

among terminal activities

Analysis of Business Process Models

Detailed architectural layouts

Determine spatial adjacency between

activities

Tactical

Possible Design Solutions

Time

Cost

Identify areas of uncertainty to incorporate flexibility

Design development

Evaluate flexible design alternatives

Design implementation

Identify flexible design elements

Operational

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flexDF Step 1

Spatial layout

Physical structure

Timescale

Ticket counters Check-in area Security system Signal and advertising Services Ducting system Wayfinding

2- 5 years

Tactical change

Structural system

Load bearing walls

Column space layout

Roof span

Façade treatment

5 – 20 years

Strategic change

Check-in counters Lounge areas

Swing gates

Interior partition

Furniture

Tape barrier

Daily/monthly

Operational change

Conclusion and Future works

Design layouts

Option X Option Y Option Z

Simulation inputs

Passenger number

Processing time/passenger

Area/ passenger

Design analysis

Simulation outputs

Passenger number

Processing time/passenger

Area/ passenger

Evaluate flexibility

Revised layout

Business process model analysis

Design development

Questions