New Ahmedabad airport to go up like the kite

Ahmedabad is also known as the city of flying ambitions and the kites symbolizes the same. The city is set to make yet another of its milestones of flying high as it has inspired the design of the new international airport. This new international airport is under construction and would be capturing the spirit of the kite festival here. According to the sources of the Airport Authority of India or AAI, the international terminal building is being made at a cost of Rs 291 crore. This would edify the kite festival theme for posterity and the new airport is scheduled to be operational by early next year. According to the website of Singapore-based CPG Corporation, which has also been given the task of conceptualizing the futuristic design of the terminal, stated that the main building would have a roofline, which would be associated with the various shapes of kites.

The site has addressed this airport as an “iconic airport”. According to the website, many kite shaped cutouts would be hanging form the skylight and these would be used as three-dimensional compositions. All of these compositions would create a system of trapezoidal-shaped frames, which would then taper into a single node at the middle of the roof. This terminal would also have plenty of daylight through the skylights, shear-glass and louver facades. For facilitating energy efficiency during the city’s extreme climatic conditions, there would be provision of air-conditioning. But this would only be concentrated on the first three to four meters, which would closely affect the comfort of passengers. This innovative design is the result of an international competition organized by AAI, from where project designs were selected for the international airport. The project comprises of a proposal for an aircraft apron apart from roadways, car parks and landscaping. The sources of AAI said that even though kite flying reaches frenzy every Uttarayan, there is an International Kite Festival held in the city since 1989. This has been a part of the city’s ethos and the people of the city are hoping that the new airport is able to capture that spirit.