Opened in 1998, Gardermoen Airport is a spectacular and solid structure, but its space quickly proved insufficient for the growing passenger traffic. The expansion of its only terminal was commissioned by Nordic, which was also one of its original designers.
After five years of construction, a new part of Oslo International Airport - a 300 m long pier - has opened to the public. Overall, it builds on the theme set in the 1990s: a single space with extensive use of wood and powerful concrete columns. However, the authors are especially proud of the high resource efficiency and environmental neutrality of their brainchild. The renewed Gardermoen became the only airport in the world to receive the BREEAM Excellent certificate. Therein lies the big paradox: aviation is the dirtiest of the existing modes of transport, and its constant development is causing great harm to the planet. But if we consider the Oslo air gate as an ordinary structure, then its architects have really achieved a lot.
So, snow from the airfield will be collected in a special storage in winter to be used to cool the buildings in summer. CO2 emissions were reduced by 35% thanks to the use of wood from local, Scandinavian forests, recycled steel and sustainable concrete with the addition of volcanic ash in the construction. Effective insulation has made it possible to achieve the PassivHaus standard, and the energy consumption in the new part of the terminal is more than two times lower than in the old one.
The expansion increased the airport's capacity from 19 million to 30 million people a year, while the maximum distance a passenger would have to walk on foot was reduced to 450 meters, much less than most airports in the world.
Natural lighting is very widely used: it and the clear and permeable structure of the spaces will allow passengers to easily navigate, keeping calm while traveling. The reconstructed train station, which opened in 2016, has increased the number of arrivals to Gardermoen by public transport from 65% to 70%.
