The INSIDER Summary:
- Beijing's Daxing Airport will be home to the largest airport terminal in the world once it opens in 2019.
- The terminal will be 7.5 million square feet, and the airport is expected to cost $13 billion in total.
- Award-winning architect Zaha Hadid worked on the airport design until she passed away suddenly in 2016, but her firm is continuing to work on the project.
Upon its expected completion in 2019, Beijing's Daxing Airport will hold the title of having the world's largest airport terminal at 7.5 million square feet.
According to a press release from Zaha Hadid Architects, one of the firms behind the airport's design, the new terminal will initially accommodate 45 million passengers per year, but is expected to expand to 72 million.
With seven runways, 78 gates, and a "multi-modal transport center with links to local and national rail services," according to a press release, the massive airport is expected to cost a total of $13 billion.
Despite its size, Zaha Hadid Architects claims that the terminal will be a major step up in efficiency for passengers. According to the firm, "the terminal’s compact design minimizes the distances between check-in and gate, and also the distances between gates for transferring passengers."
Zaha Hadid's firm and ADP Ingeniérie, a firm specializing in airport design, began working together on the terminal after winning a bid for the project in 2014. Hadid, who is known for her modern designs all over the world, passed away from a heart attack in March 2016, although her firm is continuing its involvement in the project.
Though the airport isn't set to open for two more years, construction of the steel structure of the main terminal building was completed in June, bringing it one step closer to its expected opening in 2019.
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