SOM’s nature-infused terminal opens in kempegowda international airport

SOM’s New Terminal Welcomes Travelers to Kempegowda Airport

SOM and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) unveiled Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR), India, designed with inspiration from the city’s garden heritage. The terminal occupies 255,000 square meters and facilitates the airport’s capacity by 25 million passengers annually. Drawing from Bengaluru’s ‘garden city’ reputation, Terminal 2 offers a tranquil, modern transit hub. It serves as a symbolic entrance showcasing the city’s cultural richness and natural beauty. This development signifies a significant milestone for one of India’s largest cities and establishes BLR Airport as one of the world’s premier airports.

Spanning 123,000 square meters, the upcoming multi-modal transit hub in front of Terminal 2 serves as the airport’s central point, linking BLR Airport and Bengaluru city. This T-shaped space, spread over two levels, simplifies access to public transit while also functioning as an outdoor retail, event, and entertainment area for both locals and travelers. Passengers moving from this transit hub through the terminal entrance to the gates encounter interconnected spaces adorned with abundant greenery, creating a harmonious flow between indoor and outdoor, elevated and ground-level areas.

all images by Ar. Ekansh Goel © Studio Recall

garden-themed design unveils a green oasis amidst travel

SOM‘s design, in collaboration with landscape architects Grant Associates and designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (AJSK), was conceived as a nature-infused space, termed a ‘terminal in a garden.’ The main terminal block, encompassing essential facilities like check-in, immigration, security, retail, arrivals, and baggage claim, stands separate from Terminal 2’s gates. This division is marked by a 90-meter-wide forested area called a ‘forest belt,’ featuring indigenous flora, meandering pathways, and multi-story pavilions covered in bamboo. Passengers, both arriving and departing, encounter a series of bridges and outdoor paths within this green belt, providing an immersive and serene experience that contrasts with the usual hustle of an international airport. The terminal interior is adorned with hanging plant installations and skylights, adding sensory richness to the space. To evoke the local landscape, the design incorporates materials such as bamboo, locally sourced ivory brown granite, umbered red bricks, and traditionally woven rattan in the finishes and furnishings. This garden-themed design aims to connect travelers with the lush natural beauty reminiscent of the verdant cityscape. ‘For Terminal 2, SOM’s design inverts every expectation of how an airport can look and feel,’ said Managing Partner Laura Ettelman.

a harmonious flow of nature and design

The terminal’s structural design and rectilinear shape prioritize efficiency and sustainability, with adaptability built-in to accommodate future changes, supporting the ongoing growth of air travel in Bengaluru. Terminal 2 (T2) has earned recognition as the world’s largest terminal pre-certified as LEED Platinum by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) before commencing operations. It has also been granted the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Platinum certification for its sustainable architecture and design. Apart from its expansive outdoor spaces, the terminal incorporates various advanced sustainable features. These innovations enable the terminal to function entirely on renewable energy sources. The plentiful vegetation utilizes harvested on-site water, while indoor water features such as waterfalls contribute to cooling the interior environment. ‘Right from the inception, the engineering was focused on reduced embodied carbon and designing a structure that maximizes the use of the material sourced and fabricated locally, making it a beacon of the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy,’ said Structural Engineering Principal Preetam Biswas.

passenger journey through lush interconnected spaces

All terminal gates are equipped to handle a single wide-body aircraft for international flights or two narrow-body aircraft for domestic flights. The terminal features 13 wide-body gates, which can be utilized as 28 narrow-body aircraft gates interchangeably, with the potential to expand to 20 wide-body gates in the future. This adaptable layout is aimed at preventing gates from remaining inactive for extended periods, ensuring the terminal remains relevant and adaptable over time. Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru’s Terminal 2, the second major airport terminal design by SOM in India following the completion of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai in 2014, is strategically designed to function effectively as an international travel hub for the foreseeable future. ‘Terminal 2 will stand apart from every other airport in the world,’ said Design Principal Peter Lefkovits. ‘The orchestration of every component—both natural and man-made—creates a passenger experience that we hope will set a precedent for the future of airport design.’

Terminal 2 is a serene multimodal transit hub that reimagines the airport experience