A small state but a great one
New Qatar airport opts for superlative – inauguration of the largest Mediamesh® façade in the world
One of the largest and most modern airports in the world is rapidly moving closer to completion. On December 18, national holiday in the, square metre-wise, small gulf state Qatar, the Royal Family inaugurated the future global hub for air travel for the region. In terms of size, design, and energy efficiency, the new flagship project New Doha International Airport (NDIA) opted for many spectacular superlatives. One of them is the world’s largest Mediamesh® façade by GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG (GKD) in the main terminal. In total, 1,000 square metres of Mediamesh® strategically located in five different places, will catch the passengers’ eye without obstructing the view from inside to outside. The first woven screen, sized 25,4 x 8,6 metres and fully video-compatible, with integrated LEDs hangs on the interior façade. Four additional panels will follow in the coming months.
In 2022, the peninsular Qatar in the Persian Gulf will host the Football World Cup. With the ambitious goal to surpass its predecessors, the emirate is working on gigantic infrastructure projects. The focus lies on transportation including a new metro, a railway and the new airport construction project NDIA which has cost 14 billion US-Dollars so far. As one of the first airports NDIA was constructed to meet the requirements of the new Airbus 380, the biggest passenger plane in the world. Starting next year, with the completion of the first construction stage, 24 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo will be transported annually. Every day, about 900 airplanes will take off from and land on the two parallel, oversized runways. Up to 8,700 passengers will pass through the new, 510,000 square metre main terminal per hour. In order to master the passenger flow without waiting periods, maximum performance is required. On an area of the size of fifty football fields, forty gates will guarantee a quick processing of 70,000 passengers daily once the first construction phase is finished. For the Football World Cup, the number of gates will be doubled in order to cope with the great amount of football fans expected from all over the world.
Cool Vision
As a highly frequented location, the airport terminal is an appealing advertising location. Five Mediamesh® screens installed in the main terminal make use of this prominent location and, at the same time, emphasize the planner’s high demands concerning design and sustainability. The transparent, woven stainless steel construction allows for an unobstructed view from the lounges into the main hall. Furthermore, extremely bright and energy efficient LEDs communicate advertising messages and live recordings of events.
Complete Responsibility
The visual lightness and transparency of the system responded to the designer’s wish to underline the main terminal’s spaciousness and continuous roof construction. Due to the glass façade’s limited ability to support load, load transfer constituted an additional challenge for GKD’s specialists. As a full service provider, the leading global manufacturer of woven solutions and systems was responsible for the project management and the installation of the substructure as well as the mesh. Founded specifically for this project, the subsidiary GKD Qatar ensured smooth processes with project managers being permanently on site. In order to emphasize the filigree overall impression of the construction which was desired, the large-size mesh panels were fastened with Fusiomesh NG, a special, patented bonding procedure. The displays are attached to the interior façade, hence no wind loads had to be taken into consideration. According to Abdul Aziz Al-Noaimi, manager of the airport, 80 percent of the first construction stage has been completed when the ceremonial opening took place in December 2011. Due to delays in construction, only one Mediamesh® panel has gone into action in the main terminal so far. However, with a size of 230 square metres, the panel already gives a fascinating impression of the transparent, medialised mesh system.
