MAD Architects has proposed a futuristic snowflake-inspired third terminal for China’s Harbin Airport, complete with indoor gardens. The airport terminal is currently designed to serve 43 million passengers on 320,000 outgoing flights per year, and this new design would increase the capacity. “Like a snowflake that has gently fallen onto the earth, it creates an architectural poetry that settles into its locale, while simultaneously expressing itself as a surreal, interstellar space of future air travel,” said the architecture studio, which was founded by Chinese architect Ma Yansong. Read more for additional pictures and information.
“Skylights set into the white roof would be articulated as ridges that would mimic the look of snowdrifts. Renders show glass domes over the indoor gardens, letting natural light into the terminal below. The terminal’s five-pronged shape is also designed to cut down the time it takes travellers to reach their departure gates,” reports Dezeen.
