The Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal - Copenhagen Airport
Terminal 3 Airside Expansion, Copenhagen Airport
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Client
Copenhagen Airports a/s
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Team
Aarsleff, COWI, Zeso Architects
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Location
Lufthavnsboulevarden 6, DK-2770 Kastrup
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Size
60,000 m²
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Status
Expected completion in 2028
To meet future demand, Copenhagen Airport has embarked on an expansion of Terminal 3 that dwarfs previous expansions and consolidates it as one of the best in the world. The new 60,000 m² expansion will extend the existing one-roof terminal that draws in light, nature and the city, and put everything within reach. Architecturally, the expansion unites the existing qualities with simple solutions that ensure that it is equally spectacular, simple and calm.
The heart of Copenhagen is the main concept for the new expansion, where scale and structure from the Inner City form the framework for an inspiring urban landscape. The site plan disposition takes its inspiration from one of historic Copenhagen’s most famous and well-functioning urban environments: the area around Højbro Plads, with roughly the same geographic size as the new airport expansion. This creates a natural flow with clear references to Copenhagen.
The expansion of Terminal 3 Airside represents the most substantial phase in Copenhagen Airport’s expansion toward accommodating 40 million passengers annually.
"You must understand the existing qualities and aesthetics in order to create a new, coherent design that matches in scale, function and technology."
Simon Suensson, Partner, Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects
Existing ceilings and floors, central elements of the architecture of the Copenhagen Airport, inspire the expansion design. All airport ceilings tell a story of a consistent focus on quality and aesthetics, combined with a highly technical functionality – such as the undulating ceilings in the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal from 1939, the white slats and characteristic round skylights in the 1960 Terminal 2 as well as the arched wings of Terminal 3 from 1998. The high quality flooring is another characteristic feature of the airport, and lends all terminals a coherent expression. The wooden floors on the first floor give travellers a calm, pleasant feel and offer an intuitive sense of location. The baggage reclaim area has granite flooring.
The extension encompasses five new baggage carousels for incoming luggage, baggage reclaim areas, commercial spaces, a doubling of the current border control capacity in Pier C, and various additional support facilities.
Nordic nature as a focal point
The buildings of Copenhagen Airport combine flexibility, function and aesthetics from different periods. Each terminal has its own qualities and together they form a large urban building complex that reflects an ambitious vision of maintaining everything under one roof.
Designed under a single undulating roof, the new expansion combines these qualities. The new terminal area that lets diffuse natural light into the large space under a wavy ceiling that references the first Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal and the clouds in the sky. Open, green light shafts with hanging plants serve as landmark crevices in the transparent ceiling. They ensure a simultaneous flow of direct sunlight and diffuse daylight.
In the evening, the ceiling appear as a single, unified surface reflecting a starry sky. The heart of the terminal is an open space with a large garden that will provide passengers with an intuitive overview and an impressive runway view from the 270-metre-long window section. A suspended, column-free floor divides the space into two levels, continuing the natural integration of the existing architecture.
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