This airport terminal is designed to connect the landscape with the indoors utilizing subtropical vegetation. Looking at the sense of place and referring to the Köppen climate classification based on vegetation, I thought that an open space with high affinity for indigenous plants and wind was suitable as a terminal. The lounge building, constructed as a multi-layer CLT (cross laminated timber) flat slab, created a long, deep space which softens strong Okinawan sunlight in the interior, but whose impressive CLT panel layers express luxury with the beamless space.
In addition, the check-in area has beams composed of CLT along the girder and doubled up beams, yet creates a nice and simple hipped roof from a distance. Natural materials were utilized as much as possible for the interior so that the ambiance lifts and excites your spirits for travel. The terminal is exposed to weather such as typhoons due to its physical openness, so the exterior has two layers––large separate sliding doors and a windbreak screen with a buffer zone between them. In addition, keeping in mind other traditional architectural methods and features of Okinawa such as deep eaves and screens for wind and evil spirit protection, the comfort index was set based on our perceived temperature with the aim for a Zero Energy Building.