President opens new terminal at Heydar Aliyev International Airport Baku

The new international terminal at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku has officially opened.

Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president recently attending the ribbon cutting ceremony for the iconic terminal which marked more milestones for Buro Happold; reflecting our world class capability in the aviation sector as well as our work in and around Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev’s landmark visit reflects the design team’s success in overcoming a number of challenges. The high seismic zone required a complex structural engineering response to deliver solutions beyond local code limits and apply state-of-the-art thinking using a combined analysis between the steel perimeter structure and the underlying concrete structure. Buro Happold’s building services design was tuned to suit the relatively harsh and variable climatic factors in Baku and to work with the ebb and flow of passenger density during 24 hour operations. The specialist systems were incorporated into both the architecture and the core engineering disciplines to provide an integrated multi-functional final design that optimised operations and reduced running costs.

“Energy reduction and conservation is the cornerstone of the building services design. Various strategies, including day lighting control, tightly controlled infiltration and pressurisation strategies, dynamic system operations, energy recovery systems, along with variable volume controls, have resulted in a low carbon producing terminal, when benchmarked against other similar facilities throughout the region,” said Paul Crayford, Buro Happold project director.

The new 60,000m² terminal has 13 passenger boarding bridges and is designed for an annual flow of six million passengers. Buro Happold has been involved in the design and supervision of the terminal along with other elements of the airport since February 2010, collaborating with our joint venture partners, the architect Woods Bagot. Utilising collaborative working practices the consultancy has drawn on its engineering expertise from offices in both Dubai and the UK, to deliver this unique world class facility in a tight programme.

“After six months of working on the project we had designed the concrete structure, seen the piles installed and completed the reinforced concrete structure. Two years on and the complex roof and perimeter steelwork had been installed, the cladding completed in parallel with the internal finishes and building services.  Working on this fast track design and build project, with significant changes throughout, has demanded real dedication and innovation from our team, which I’m proud to say they have delivered throughout the project, ” concluded our project principal.