Zaha Hadid Architects has created a pleated timber-clad roof in reference to Lithuanian heritage for a new arrivals terminal for Vilnius Airport.
Sited between two existing terminals, the new terminal is intended to handle growing passenger volumes, contribute to economic growth for Lithuania, and strengthen the airport’s role as a gateway transport hub for the Baltics.
In its Vilnius Airport design, Zaha Hadid Architects sought to synthesize the classic imagery of Lithuania with modern architectural idiom. The terminal is part of a comprehensive transport masterplan that includes high-speed and local rail, buses, taxis, cycle ways, and pedestrian rights of way.
Picked from an international competition, the proposal utilizes rhombus and triangle geometries—figures that have cultural significance in Baltic cultures.
« This creates an architecture that is both of its moment and deeply rooted in the local context, » said Ludovico Lombardi, director at Zaha Hadid Architects.
« The terminal’s appearance is modern and provides a smooth travel experience that is linked directly to Vilnius’ transport system. »
Concept images indicate enormous floor-to-ceiling windows on the facades of the terminal, interrupted by metallic inserts in the shape of triangles.
Plastic folds of the roof contain rhombus- and triangular-shaped skylights projecting natural light into the building interior.
