1. Flexible Digital approach to
Airport Terminal design
Sarah Shuchi
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2. Presentation Outline
Background and Introduction
Literature Review
Research questions
Research significance
Research Methodology
Research Progress
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3. 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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4. 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
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5. 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
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6. 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
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7. Airport Terminal: Design, Operation and Facilities
Airport design and operations are closely linked
Poor design affects airport operations- increased cost
Facility requirements depend on operations
2. Processing interface
1. Access interface
Arriving Ticketing
Waiting
3. Flight interface
Departing Check- in
Loading and
Parking Security check unloading(both
Circulating Claiming Baggage passenger and
baggage)
Checking customs
Passenger terminal components (Horonjeff, McKelvey et al. 2010) 7

8. 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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9. Airport Design Configurations
Which configuration is the best?
Finger pier, Satellite, Midfield, Linear, Transporter or Hybrid ?
Finger pier Satellite Linear Transporter Midfield
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10. 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
Finger pier at Brisbane International
Walking distances are prime Level Of Service Airport
(LOS) measures, LOS varies with spaces
Finger pier configuration is widely adopted
Hybrid configuration- more flexible
Linear configuration at Darwin
International Airport
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11. 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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12. 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. Connected buildings
2. Temporary facilities
3. Shared used facilities
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13. 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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14. 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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15. 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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16. 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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17. 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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18. 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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19. 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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20. 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) 20

21. 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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22. 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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23. 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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24. Research Significance
Investigate the role of flexibility in airport terminal design
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25. 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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26. Research Methodology flowchart
Literature Onsite-case study Business
Phase 1 review analysis process models
Indentify preliminary Hierarchical
design parameters breakdown of spaces
Define processes for Inputs from other AotF
Phase 2 Create BIM models layout generation streams
Define design metrics
Form generation by
Phase 3 research assistant
Airport Layouts
Analysis of AIM/BIM AIM/BIM
algorithmic metrics Design guidelines guidelines specifications
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27. Research Methodology Phase 1
Onsite case study Both international and domestic terminals around Australia
analysis - Brisbane, Perth, Gold Coast, Melbourne,
Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton Airport
Case studies have been selected based on three
categories
Business Process Help to understand the passenger process in departure
Models terminal
Departure activities in Brisbane international Airport (Mazhar
2009)
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28. Research Methodology Phase 1
Terminal facilities Design parameters Design attributes
Preliminary Design parameters Terminal entry
Entry from public
transports
Curb side entry
Design parameters will assists to Processing areas Entry hall
Check-in area
Queuing space
Location
determine relationships among Security Service space
Customs and immigration
passenger activities and space Boarding
Ramp Location
Circulation Stair Orientation (position of
Spatial Hierarchy Elevator
Escalator
the design
elements/functions in
Automated people mover respect to the other
Identify spatial relationship
Wayfinding Signage
Pamphlet
and hierarchical breakdown Discretionary activities
Map
Cafe and restaurant Location
of departure terminal Speciality shops Adjacency (of spaces
News agent according to the related
activities Ticket counters functions)
Orientation
Toilet facilities Corridor space
Money exchange
Tax refund scheme
Internet Kiosks
Water fountain
Selected preliminary design parameters Phone booths
Waiting/meeting Seating area Location 28
Number of seating

29. Research Methodology Phase 3
Identify spatial relationships
Space layout To determine flexible design layouts
planning methods
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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30. Research Methodology Phase 3
Relationship matrix and corresponding diagrammatic layout (Whitehead
Network Method 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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31. 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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32. Research Progress
Case study : Brisbane International Airport
Identified spatial hierarchy at check-in facilities at
Brisbane Airport
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33. Research Timeline
Time Elapsed (in months) 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
PhD Milestones
Stage 2
Confirmation
Annual progress
Final seminar
Course work
AIRS
Research phase
Literature review
P HASE 1
On-Site case study analysis
Selection of preliminary design parameters
IDENTIFY SPATIAL RELATIONSHIP
CREATE BIM MODELS
P HASE 2
LEARN S OFTWARE (REVIT )
DEFINE PROCESSES FOR LAYOUT GENERATOR
INPUT FROM OTHER AOT F STREAMS
DETERMINATION FINAL DESIGN
PARAMETERS
F ORM GENERATION BY OTHERS
P HASE 3
GENERATE FLEXIBLE LAYOUTS
DESIGN CRITERIA ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMIC METRICS
P ROVIDE DESIGN GUIDELINES
Provide AIM/BIM specifications
Publication and conference
CONFERENCE PAPER
J OURNAL PAPER
Final examination
Thesis draft 1
Thesis draft 2
Thesis Final draft and submission
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34. Research Progress Brisbane International Airport
Discretionary activities at Brisbane
Check-in hall at Brisbane Airport
Departurefacilities at Brisbane Airport
Airport
Identified spatial hierarchy at check-in facilities at
Brisbane Airport
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35. 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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36. Research Conclusion
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