Architects: Reid Architecture
Main Contractor: TAG Farnborough Airport Ltd
Project Value: £10.2 million
Type of works: supply of aluminium profiles for the Terminal Farnborough.
Comar Architectural Aluminium Systems and their approved fabricator, Compass Glass Limited, supplied aluminium profiles for the 4,000m2 Terminal at Farnborough, one of Britain’s most modern business airports.
The Terminal is the new Operations and Administrative Centre. It is the final building in the comprehensive airport masterplan, which also features the award winning hangars and a landmark air-traffic control tower.
The entire brief was envisaged by Reid Architecture, whose portfolio includes other award winning designs for such key airports as Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Terminal impresses with the boldness of its design. The inspired wing-shaped asymmetrical edifice features the minimalist lines of an aircraft, whilst the light metal skin, achieved with the perforated aluminium sheet, give the building a sleek, modern appearance.
The elegant fenestration contributes to the building’s unconventional style, and underpins the Terminal’s function. The sheer curtain-walling of the side elevations and the rows of tilted glazing along the facade allow the required amount of daylight into the conferencing and administrative offices. Also, the fenestration opens onto the surrounding airport grounds, with the hillside turning the Terminal into an excellent observation platform. This feature becomes imperative, especially during the historic International Air Shows and International Trade Shows which take place at Farnborough every year.
Compass Glass installed Comar 6 curtain walling and Comar 7 doors over a four week period. Comar 6 is a versatile, thermally efficient system, designed to integrate panels and glass of different widths, opening vents and doors. The flexible design of Comar 6 makes it ideal for complex facetted curtain-walls as well as sheer glazed facades. In the Terminal, Comar 6 spans the first and second floors, incorporating high panes of toughened glass. Rows of smaller etched-glass panes create a feature on the otherwise seamless facades. All aluminium profiles were polyester powder-coated to standard Grey RAL.
The glazing embraces the entire ground floor, with the Terminal’s customer lounges incorporating integrated Comar 7 curved auto-sliding doors, which were also polyester powder-coated to standard Grey RAL.
Because all Comar profiles are integrated, the slim sight lines are standardised throughout the envelope, contributing to the Terminal’s minimalist appearance.