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Article: On the wing; Beijing's new airport marks the latest phase in the evolution of a quintessentially modern building type.(comment)
- Article from:
- The Architectural Review
- Article date:
- August 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 EMAP Architecture. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Don't let anyone tell you that size doesn't matter. At 1.3 million square metres, Beijing's new Terminal 3 is, according to its architects, the first building in the world to break the 1 million square metre barrier. 'Forget T5, here's T-Rex', declared architectural writer Martin Spring. (1) From end to end T3 is 1.8 miles (3km) long and 17 per cent larger than all of London's Heathrow terminals combined (including the new T5) and nearly twice as big as Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok. By 2020 it will be capable of handling 50 million passengers annually, as air travel, formerly a perk of the party elite, becomes more widely available to the masses. In 2002 Beijing was ranked ...