Zurich Airport to speak at Future Cities Forum's April infrastructure debate

The Circle and nature (at Zurich Airport) - designed by Holzer Kobler Architects in cooperation with Riken Yamamoto (Image copyright mir.no)

The future for 'green airports' and the creation of environments that serve the health visitor economy will be central to our next infrastructure forum in April.

Chief Commercial Officer at Zurich Airport (Flughafen Zurich AG), Stefan Gross, will be speaking on these subjects when he joins Future Cities Forum. Stefan has been Head of the Commercial Division and on the management board since 2016. He holds overall responsibility for the commercial centres, marketing and digital transformation plus all products relating to landside traffic.

Stefan has previously spoken to the Forum about 'The Circle' project at the airport which opened in 2020, and which was Switzerland's biggest construction site from 2015 onwards.

In an area of 180,000 square meters the Circle comprises smart offices, a university medical centre, a woodland park, conference centre, retail, galleries and two new Hyatt hotels. Flughafen Zurich AG and Swiss Life are partners in the venture with architect Riken Yamamoto in cooperation with Holzer Kobler Architects responsible for the design. The photovoltaic installation on the roofs of the buildings is a source of natural energy and helps to cover electricity requirements. The Circle is certified to MINERGIE and LEED PLATINUM standards. The ArtHub is the central meeting area for those interested in strolling through galleries, private collections or pop-up art installations while the MindHub, an education and knowledge module, uses interactive technologies for seminars and workshops.

Flughafen Zurich AG also designs, develops and operates new airports for other international airport groups and state governments. It is currently involved in eight airports in Latin America including four in Brazil, two in Chile and and also Bogota and Curacao. India, Indonesia and the Philippines are focus markets for the Swiss group.

Architects practice Grimshaw was selected by Flughafen Zurich when it recently won a design competition for the new passenger terminal of Delhi Noida International Airport. This was for demonstrating a proficiency in balancing passenger comfort with sustainability, and timeless design with flexibility for future needs.

Grimshaw won the international design competition for the new passenger terminal of Delhi Noida International Airport, as part of a design team including Nordic - Office of Architecture, Haptic and Indian practice, STUP.

The team was selected from a shortlist of three Grimshaw states, for demonstrating a proficiency in balancing passenger comfort with sustainability and timeless design with flexibility for future needs. it states that the winning design responded to the brief, merging Swiss efficiency and Indian hospitality to create a modern and seamless passenger experience, setting new benchmarks in sustainability for airport terminal buildings in India. The concept creates a future airport city envisioning green spaces inside and around the building and flexible expansion options with capacity to serve 30 million passengers per year.

Grimshaw Partner Andrew Thomas said:

'This new visionary airport is vital to the rapid and continued economic development of the Delhi region and we look forward to working with Nordic and Haptic again drawing on our past experience from Istanbul Airport to create a truly sustainable and innovative new terminal. Our design will provide the best possible experience for passenger and staff while focussing on the key issues in aviation today such as passenger flow, digital services and rigorous carbon minimisations targets.

Grimshaw says that once complete, Delhi Noida International Airport will serve the fast-developing industrial region between Delhi and Agra, and its investment will support the Governments of India and Uttar Pradesh through infrastructure development and job creation.

'In a country that is already pushing the boundaries for sustainable aviation infrastructure, the project aspires to achieve LEED Gold standard and to operate at Carbon Net Zero. Design proposals include an internal landscape courtyard deep within the terminal plan delivering ventilation, daylight, and an enhanced passenger experience. Externally, a new landscaped forecourt will create a regional destination for the public, staff and passengers with an unforgettable sense of place.' states the firm.