Expansion makes Oslo airport 'greenest in the world'

Work to expand Oslo airport has resulted in the building being labelled the most environmentally-friendly such hub in the world.

Designed by Oslo-based Nordic-Office of Architecture, the 115,000m² expansion uses snow as a coolant, and has achieved the world’s first BREEAM ‘Excellent’ sustainability rating for an airport building.
 
The expansion doubles the size of the existing terminal building with the addition of a new, 300m-long pier, while the airport’s capacity will rise from 19 million to an anticipated future capacity of 30 million.
 
Snow from the runways will be collected and stored during wintertime in an on-site depot to be used as coolant during the summer. Natural materials have been used throughout the building: the new pier is entirely clad in timber sourced from Scandinavian forests, while recycled steel and special concrete mixed with volcanic ash has been used throughout.

By choosing environmentally friendly materials, the building’s CO² emissions were reduced by 35%.
 
Gudmund Stokke, founder and head of design at Nordic-Office of Architecture said his firm was “delighted to have delivered a project which not only develops Oslo Airport’s distinctive architecture, but one which also provides a greatly enhanced experience for passengers.”

Nordic said it was working on 10 airport projects in seven different countries. Istanbul New Airport, is scheduled to open next year and will be the largest airport in the world.