1. Flexible Airport Terminal Design:
Towards a Framework
Flexible
Sarah Shuchi, PhD Candidate, Queensland University of Technology
Supervisor: Prof. Robin Drogemuller
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2. Presentation Outline
• Flexible design concept
• Flexibility in building design
• Design strategies
• Flexibility in airport terminal design
• Significance in airport design
• Flexible Design Framework (flexDF)
http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/contemporary_airport_design.html
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3. Concept of Flexibility
• 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
• Building design – allows to create spaces that anticipate
complex and changing requirements of human needs
Flexible design accommodates potential movement or change
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4. Flexibility in Building design
Adaptation
Movability
Flexible building Transformation
Interaction
Simple Technological Suitable use of
construction consideration space
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5. Significance of Flexible design
Manages Less Extends lifecycle
uncertainty Expensive of buildings
• Standard design • Reduce the risk of • Assists to adapt with
practice based on expensive change. future changes.
forecast. •Avoid future • Longer and more
•Forecast is unreliable. downside risk efficient service life
•Allows phases to
build, manages future
uncertainty.
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6. Flexible Design Strategies
• Four-step process for developing design flexibility (de Neufville and Scoltes 2011)
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Recognise uncertainties Identify areas of Evaluate alternatives Implementation
uncertainty
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7. Significance of Flexible Airport
• Airport design is ‘Complex’
• Facilitates complex interactions among airline, aircraft and airport authorities
Aircraft
design Plane
Airline Airport
companies authorities Passenger Terminal
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8. Flexibility VS Inflexibility
Schiphol International Airport
1920 1967 2001 http://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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9. Flexibility VS Inflexibility
TWA terminal, JFK Airport
• 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
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10. Shearing layers of Flexible design
• Buildings are complex - composed of a number of interacting layers
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11. Proposed shearing layers of Airport design
• Influence of shearing layers in terminal design
• Terminal as a series of layers and the activities within it is a system
Stuff Operational
Space plan Spatial layout
Service Tactical
Skin
Structure
Strategic Physical structure
Site
Shearing layers of airport terminal
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12. Developing a conceptual Framework
Changes occur within
various building layers
flexible Design
Framework (flexDF)
Changes occur according Changes occur according
spatial layout and physical to time period
structure

13. Developing a conceptual Framework
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
Identify areas of Identify flexible Design Evaluate flexible Design
uncertainty design elements development design alternatives implementation
Terminal Design elements Design layouts Space Strategies
facilities Function
Design
constraints Time
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14. Flexible Design Framework
STEP 1 STEP 2
(flexDF) STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5
Identify areas of Identify flexible design Design Evaluate flexible design Design
Identify areas of
uncertainty to elements flexible
Identify Design
Development Evaluate flexible
alternatives Design
Implementation
uncertainty to
incorporate flexibility design elements development design implementation
incorporate flexibility alternatives
Identify “Shearing Design elements of Identify
Evaluate design
layers of change” various terminal implementation
alternatives
facilities strategies
Spatial Physical Recognise
Determine spatial Spac Time Cost
Layout structur relationships Post
adjacency between e
e among terminal implementation
activities
activities evaluation and
Changes according modification
to timescale Propose preliminary Possible Design
Classify passenger design layouts Solutions
activities to
Operational determine spatial
requirements Review
Tactical
Identify design Detailed architectural
Strategic
constraints layouts
Analysis of Business
Process Models 14

15. flexDF Step 1
Check-in counters Ticket counters
Lounge areas Check-in area
Spatial
layout Swing gates Security system
Interior partition Signal and advertising
Services Structural system
Furniture
Ducting system Load bearing walls
Tape barrier
Wayfinding Column space
Physical layout
structure Roof span
Façade treatment
Timescale Daily/monthly 2- 5 years 5 – 20 years
Operational change Tactical change Strategic change
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16. Conclusion and Future works
Option X Option Y Option Z
Design layouts
Design analysis
Business process Simulation
model analysis inputs
Passenger number Simulation Passenger number
outputs
Processing time/passenger Processing time/passenger
Revised layout
Area/ passenger Area/ passenger
Design development Evaluate flexibility

17. Questions