Xi-an International Airport (XIY) is building its new passenger terminal building on the northeast side of the airport. It is called Terminal 5 (T5). It will be XIY’s main terminal when complete and increase the airport’s annual capacity to 85 million passengers by 2030. The local authority is working with the airport to master plan a gateway business district immediately in front of T5. SAAN participated in a shortlisted international design competition for master planning in this T5 Business District (T5 BD) and won.
Our winning scheme has three achievements recognized by the jury committee: first is our solution to solving the traffic problem in XIY airport’s original master plan; second is the fact we added a mega-size commercial complex called Silk Road Gateway Center, which is also a revision to the program brief, the third is how we handled the design dilemma of Shun Mausoleum site, which sits in the geometrical center of the overall project area.
The traffic problems for most airports are becoming epidemic for major international gateway airports. Cars lined up to enter and exit the crowded terminal. We wanted to tackle this issue at the very beginning of the design. We stretched the small loop on XIY’s master plan to a large loop and proposed a dual roadway system for T5 and T5 BD. We also proposed an underground ring road that is connected to the two roadway systems separately.
For the second design decision, our proposal of a mega-size commercial complex is enthusiastically accepted by both the airport authority and the local government authority. Both authorities want to own the right to develop this commercial complex. We see it being similar to Hong Kong International Airport’s Skycity and Changi Airport’s Jewel, but much larger. It is coined as the new Silk Road Gateway Complex to greet visitors to Xi-an and provide one-stop services for all needs.
Our third achievement is the biggest challenge of this project, which is the existing Tang Dynasty Shun Mausoleum. Its huge land area and contradicting axis presented both challenge and opportunity. We took the opportunity. Its proximity to T5 and T5 BD signifies the nature of Xi-an, which is China’s ancient capital. We proposed ways to protect the tomb site, set boundaries to ensure its safety, and encourage ways to bring it to modern-day urban life. We proposed a complete security wall and gate for the tomb site while opening up its perimeter as public parks for T5 BD and the entire region.
After winning the competition, our design team started a friendly, intense, and productive working session with the XIY airport authority and local government agencies finalizing detailed drawings and development guidelines for the entire T5 BD property. The project has been a success and we have earned phrases from our clients and peers.
