AIR BALTIC TERMINAL,
RIGA AIRPORT

The design intention of this proposal is to combine identity,branding, sustainability and a unique transit experience into a green airport architecture which expresses the aspirations of air-Baltic. This overall green theme connects all of these elements together into a total experience which is manifested through the creation of a forest atmosphere.

The historical and cultural IDENTITY of the Latvian people has been tremendously influenced by the predominant natural feature of the land – the forest. The essence of the great northern forest can be found in the food, the architecture, the recreation – in short, in the very way of living on the Baltic.

An atmosphere is created in the terminal through the use of day lighting, natural materials, and structural elements which recall the feeling of moving through the northern forest. The idea is not to recreate a literal forest landscape, but rather an abstract experience reminiscent of being in a forest. This experience is created through the use of dappled natural lighting, the creation of a planted, ‘green wall’, an emphasis on vertical structural elements, and an undulating ceiling structure inspired by the forest canopy.