Nordland Regional Airport
YEAR 2020
TYPE airport, logistics
SIZE 3800 m²
STATUS competition-winning design
CLIENT Polarsirkelen Lufthavnutvikling AS
COLLABORATORS Team Peab Anlegg AS (with Tin.uno as a sub-consultant)
LOCATION Mo i Rana, Norway
Homage to the Golden Era
Early bespoke terminal buildings had an intimacy of space, and a care with the design of building threshold that is lost as both aircraft size and passenger numbers increase in later decades. An investigation into the historical development of the airport terminal reveals it as a distinct building type - specifically air travels’ ‘golden era’ at the start of the Jet Age, the 50’s to 60’s).
The regional airport has that smaller scale that these earlier stand-alone terminals had, and with it comes the opportunity to recapture some of those qualities. We were especially interested in the sense of arrival the architecture can evoke on both landside and airside – outstretched canopies offering shelter to a departing aircraft or awaiting car, and clear sightlines through the terminal creating an intuitive route.
J.F.K. Pan Am Terminal. Photo credit: Vanity Fair
Tempelhof Airport. Photo credit: Willy Pragher
Dulles International Airport. Photo credit: Balthazar Korab
Commercial Viability
What is lost in the increase of both aircraft size and passenger numbers, the contemporary maximialist airport gains in a business model - the captive audience between the security and the gate. The necessary sequences from A - parking to B - boarding, is prolonged through commercial and logistical programming.
By recapturing the quality and clarity of the early days minimalist airport, one is also challenged by how to commercially justify the airport itself with just a handful of daily flights. This aspect is addressed through understanding the airport in relation to Mo i Rana’s local culture and geography - the vast network of the outdoors routes connected to the airport itself.
The regional airport therefore doubles as a lodge for the local hikers, skiers, and hunters and seasonal visitors, in addition to the inbound/outbound travelers. The airport’s commercial viability is now not only hinging on just a few daily flights, but is compensated through the multitude of different users throughout the day.
