Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Terminal 2 has been named a finalist in ArchDaily’s 2015 Building of the Year Awards. Selected from more than 3,000 projects by ArchDaily readers, the SOM-designed terminal is one of only five contenders in the Public Architecture category. The public is now invited to cast votes for their favorites on ArchDaily’s website.
Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, SOM’s four-story terminal stacks a grand headhouse on top of concourses. The concourses radiate from a central processing core, permitting them to swing between domestic and international service. The cross-shaped plan also facilitates movement of planes and passengers, optimizing terminal operations and reducing travelers’ walking distances, and it can expand modularly as continual growth requires.
The new facility celebrates India’s rich cultural heritage as much as it readies the country for global competition. Gracious curbside drop-off zones designed for large parties accommodate traditional Indian arrival and departure ceremonies. In addition: Regional patterns and textures are subtly integrated into the terminal’s architecture at all scales: The headhouse’s soaring 40-meter steel-truss roof is supported by 30 mushrooming columns, whose articulated coffered treatment evoke traditional Indian architecture.
ArchDaily’s Building of the Year awards program recognizes outstanding projects that were featured on ArchDaily in the preceding year. ArchDaily readers nominate and select the winners in 14 distinct categories, from religious architecture to educational facilities. Public voting is open until Wednesday, February 4th at 11:59 PM EST.