Mexico City New International Airport

Sustainable Airport Development, Mexico Building Images, New Mexican Architecture, Architect

Mexico City New International Airport Design

Mexican Building Development design by Foster + Partners Architects, UK

10 June 2020

A look back at this competition design by Lord Foster, one of our top five posts this month in terms of traffic –

new material including videos posted:

1 Nov 2018

Mexico City New International Airport Building

Design: Foster + Partners / FR-EE Fernando Romero

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

New Mexico City International Airport Abandoned

This $13.3 billion airport for Mexico City has been cancelled despite being under construction after the public voted against the project in a nationwide referendum.

Mexico City New International Airport building design by Foster + Partners and FR-EE Fernando Romero
image Courtesy architecture office

A collaboration between Foster + Partners, FR-EE and NACO won the international competition to design Mexico City’s new international airport. At 743,000 sqm, it will be one of the world’s largest airports. It will revolutionise airport design – the entire terminal is enclosed within a continuous lightweight gridshell, embracing walls and roof in a single, flowing form, evocative of flight.

Mexico City New International Airport building by Foster + Partners and FR-EE Fernando Romero
image : dbox Foster + Partners

The design ensured short walking distances and few level changes, it is easy to navigate, and passengers will not have to use internal trains or underground tunnels – it is a celebration of space and light.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners and FR-EE Fernando Romero
image : dbox Foster + Partners

Flexible in operation, its design anticipates the predicted increase in passenger numbers to 2028 and beyond, and its development will be the catalyst for the regeneration of the surrounding area. The airport is planned on a new site with three runways, and an expansion plan up to 2062 with an eventual six runways.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners

With spans in excess of 100 metres, three times the span of a conventional airport, it has a monumental scale inspired by Mexican architecture and symbolism. The maximum span internally is 170 metres.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners

The lightweight glass and steel structure and soaring vaulted roof are designed for Mexico City’s challenging soil conditions. Its unique pre-fabricated system can be constructed rapidly, without the need for scaffolding – the airport will be a showcase for Mexican innovation, built by Mexican contractors and engineers.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners

The entire building is serviced from beneath, freeing the roof of ducts and pipes and revealing the environmental skin. This hardworking structure harnesses the power of the sun, collects rainwater, provides shading, directs daylight and enables views – all while achieving a high performance envelope that meets high thermal and acoustic standards.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners

The LEED Platinum design works with Mexico City’s temperate, dry climate to fill the terminal spaces with fresh air using displacement ventilation principles. For a large part of the year, comfortable temperatures will be maintained by almost 100% outside air, with little or no additional heating or cooling required.

Mexico City New International Airport by Foster + Partners

4 Sep 2014

Mexico City New International Airport News

Design: Foster + Partners (UK) with FR-EE Fernando Romero (Mexico)

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Foster + Partners and FR-EE Fernando Romero to design new international airport for Mexico City

Today Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, in the presence of the Governor of the State of Mexico, government ministers, the Mayor of Mexico City, Lord Foster and Fernando Romero, announced that a collaboration between Foster + Partners, FR-EE (Fernando Romero Enterprise) and NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) has won the international competition to design Mexico City’s new international airport.

Mexico City International Airport

At 555,000 square metres, it will be one of the world’s largest airports. Conceived with Foster + Partners engineering team, the project revolutionises airport design – the entire terminal is enclosed within a continuous lightweight gridshell, embracing walls and roof in a single, flowing form, evocative of flight.

Designed to be the world’s most sustainable airport, the compact single terminal uses less materials and energy than a cluster of buildings. The design ensures short walking distances and few level changes, it is easy to navigate, and passengers will not have to use internal trains or underground tunnels – it is a celebration of space and light.

Mexico City New International Airport
render : dbox Foster + Partners

With spans in excess of 100 metres, three times the span of a conventional airport, it has a monumental scale inspired by Mexican architecture and symbolism. The maximum span internally is 170 metres. The lightweight glass and steel structure and soaring vaulted roof are designed for Mexico City’s challenging soil conditions.

Its unique pre-fabricated system can be constructed rapidly, without the need for scaffolding – the airport will be a showcase for Mexican innovation, built by Mexican contractors and engineers.

Lord Foster said:
“Stansted Airport’s reinvention of the conventional terminal in the 1990s was emulated worldwide – this breaks with that model for the first time. It pioneers a new concept for a large-span, single airport enclosure, which will achieve new levels of efficiency and flexibility – and it will be beautiful. The experience for passengers will be unique.

Its design provides the
most flexible enclosure possible to accommodate internal change and an increase in capacity. Mexico has really seized the initiative in investing in its national airport, understanding its social and economic importance and planning for the future. There will be nothing else like it in the world.”

Mexico City New International Airport
picture : dbox Foster + Partners

Mexico City New International Airport – Building Information

Client: Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT)
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Appointment: September 2014
Construction Start: 2015
Site Area: 4,800 hectares (overall masterplan)
Area (Gross): Terminal Building: approximately 470,000m²
Height: 45m at its highest point
Number of Floors: Varies between 2 and 4 levels
Structure: Composite deck slabs and steel columns internally; Steel grid shell, externally.

Facilities: Fully working airport terminal with passenger processor space, flexible retail area, airline lounges, domestic and international boarding gates, baggage handling, customs, passport control, airport services, mechanical plantrooms and control rooms, control tower, operations centre, car parking.
Parking facilities: 5,000 parking bays
Materials: Structure in steel and concrete, cladding-glazing and painted aluminium panels. Emphasis on Mexican provenance and sustainably-sourced materials

Mexico City New International Airport images / information from Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners

FR-EE Fernando Romero

Mexico City Airport by Foster + Partners

Location: Mexico City, México, North America

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