Heathrow Terminal 2, London, United Kingdom

£1billion Terminal 2 to support 20 million passengers per year
BAA have today unveiled plans designed by Foster + Partners and developed by Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O'Rourke's joint partnership company HETCo for a new Terminal at London's largest airport.

The £1 billion Terminal 2 at Heathrow, formerly known as Heathrow East, will become the new home for Star Alliance airlines and will provide an estimated 20 million passengers every year. Mike Brown, Heathrow Airport's Chief Operating Officer, said: “The new Terminal 2 is part of a major programme of work already underway. Passengers travelling through Heathrow will be using new and extensively refurbished facilities which provide us with an excellent platform from which we can provide a better service to our customers than ever before.”

The development of Heathrow's Terminal 2 is part of a £4.8 billion investment across the airport, which BAA advise is provided at no cost to the taxpayer.

The new terminal will provide 185,000m2 of floor space on the site of the existing Terminal 2 and Queen's Building, both buildings are being demolished later this year. The new building is designed to produce 40% less carbon than the existing buildings using large north-facing windows in the roof to flood the building with natural light without generating uncomfortable levels of heat in the building. Solar-gathering panels on the roof will further reduce the dependency on energy supplies. Additionally a new energy centre, partially fuelled by renewable resources, will provide heating and cooling for the building.

Construction is taking place in two phases, the first of which is due for completion in 2013. Phase two is scheduled to run consecutively and will extend the new Terminal 2 into the existing Terminal 1 site. This phase, which also includes the construction of a second satellite building, is set to increase the capacity of Terminal 2 to 30 million passengers a year. Terminal 1 will close when phase two is complete in 2019, however it will remain open throughout construction.

Foster, who was the architect for Stansted airport just outside of London, has also recently had his design for the five-star Riva Hotel situated next to Heathrow approved by London Mayor, Boris Johnson. The announcement of Terminal 2 comes following much debate over a proposed sixth terminal at the airport, the plans of which are still under consideration. Heathrow Terminal 5, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners was completed in March 2008

source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
architecture NOW