Beijing Airport

Completed as the gateway to the city for the twenty-ninth Olympiad in 2008, Beijing's international terminal is the world's largest airport building. Designed to be welcoming and uplifting, it is also a symbol of place, its soaring aerodynamic roof and dragon-like form celebrating the thrill and poetry of flight and evoking traditional Chinese colours and symbols.

The terminal building and Ground Transportation Centre enclose a floor area of 1.3 million square metres and were designed to accommodate 50 million passengers per annum by 2020. Although conceived on an unprecedented scale, the terminal's design expands on the new airport patterns set by Stansted and Chek Lap Kok.

Designed for maximum flexibility, it aims to resolve the complexities of modern air travel, combining spatial clarity with high service standards. Transport connections are fully integrated, walking distances for passengers are with few level changes, and transfer times between flights are minimised.