In Progress: Pulkovo Airport / Grimshaw Architects

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Pulkovo Airport Construction Update: November 2012 from Grimshaw on Vimeo.

Text description provided by the architects. Grimshaw is working in a team with Naco, Arup, Buro Happold and Chapman Taylor, to design a new terminal and Airport City for Pulkovo Airport, St Petersburg, Russia.

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The masterplan represents and responds to the climate and heritage of St Petersburg. The striking new terminal roof and envelope are designed to accommodate the extremes of climate experienced by the city. The most prominent of these are the heavy snowfalls experienced in winter. The roof is created from a series of 18m bays, which effectively act as large hoppers, shallow enough not to encourage gathering snow, but deep enough to provide effective drainage.

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Pulkovo Airport should act as a gateway to both St Petersburg and Russia, while reflecting the city it serves. Therefore, the internal layout of the new terminal consists of well-defined and separate zones connected by individual walkways to echo the external layout of islands and bridges which make up the city. These grand, open rooms are analogous with the many civic spaces found in St Petersburg, emphasising the airport’s role as the first and last great public space of the city.

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This emphasis is carried through into the Airport City masterplan. This focuses on the sculpture lined boulevard which forms the Airport Gateway. It is reminiscent of St. Petersburg’s Grand Avenue, and terminates in a large square which will represent the past, present and future of St Petersburg through a series of pavilions. St Petersburg’s heritage is embodied here by a series of sculptures representing the city’s key emblems, the sceptre, river anchor and sea anchor. The placement of these symbols allows them to be viewed individually, or together as a vista from the Grand Avenue entrance to create the crest of St Petersburg.

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