Travels: Shanghai Pudong International Airport Terminal 2

Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour+ Partners, this airport is the 3rd busiest in China. On the 7th of June 2010, the day of my return flight to Malaysia, I had the opportunity to take some photographs of the roof structure from inside the departure hall. The structure and ceiling finishes were integrated to form regular curvilinear patterns and the Y shaped column, which is an economical structural device that enables extended coverage of more than 15 metres per bay allows for column free spans. The Y structure itself lends architectural character to the interior spaces.

This building, the Terminal 2, located behind Terminal 1, opened on March 26, 2008 (same day as the official opening of Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport), provides an additional capacity of 40 million passengers a year giving the Shanghai Pudong International Airport a total capacity of 60 million passengers and 4.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.

A view of the departure gates. Note the Y shaped structure outside.
The check in counters. Each column supports 2 bays.

Duty free shops can be seen at the right of this photo.

Another view of the check in area.