Foster + Partners has been announced as the winner of the competition to design the new King Salman International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi culture and identity drive the airport's architectural design to ensure a unique travel experience for visitors and transit travelers. The master plan will boost Saudi Arabia's capital as a global logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade, and tourism, and act as a bridge connecting 180 million passengers from East to West.
King Salman International Airport is expected to be one of the world's largest airports, along with King Fahd International in Saudi Arabia, with around 780 square kilometers built, Denver International (135 km²), and Dallas/Fort Worth International (53 km²), both located in the USA. The mega complex will cover an area of approximately 57 km², allowing six parallel runways and including the existing terminals named after King Khalid.
The airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travelers by 2030, with the capacity to process 3.5 million tons of cargo and 180 million passengers by 2050. The flight terminal will also include 12km² of support facilities, residential and recreational amenities, retail outlets, and other logistics real estate. With sustainability at its core, King Salman International will achieve LEED Platinum certification by incorporating cutting-edge green initiatives into its design and will be powered by renewable energy.
Looking forward to the future, the new King Salman International Airport reimagines the traditional terminal as a single concourse loop, served by multiple access. The terminal is very much of its place and connects passengers to the sensory experiences of the city, with natural elements, tempered light and state-of-the-art facilities - Luke Fox, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners.
The British architecture studio is also working on the Red Sea International Airport in Saudi Arabia as part of the larger Red Sea Project and tourism development. Moreover, Foster + Partners has also announced the construction of the new CPK airport, situated between Warsaw and Łódź, in Poland. In consortium with Buro Happold, the airport will serve up to 40 million passengers with an expansion capacity of up 65 million travelers target in 2060.
