INTRODUCTION
The subject of
airport passenger terminal building must involve a discussion of
transportation. Transportation has remained one of the most vital factors that
influence the development of a nation. The credibility of this statement has
been proven over the centuries, that if one decides to take a critical look at
earlier civilizations, from the time of early Egyptian civilization to the
current civilized world, one will discover that many of the great feats
achieved during these civilizations would have been impossible without one form
of transportation or the other. By way of definition; transportation (or
transport) is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to
another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and
space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations.
Transportation is important since it enables trade between people, which in
turn establishes civilizations.
Transport
infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport,
including roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines
andterminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses,
trucking terminals, refuelling depots (including fuelling docks and fuel
stations) and seaports. Terminals may be used both for interchange of
passengers and cargo and for maintenance.
Vehicles travelling
on these networks may include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks,
people, helicopters and aircra.
Operations deal with
the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose
including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of
infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and
mode.
Transportation can be
broadly classified under three broad groups thus:
Land transportation;
Water transportation; and Air transportation.
Land transportation
is the most common and dates back to the beginning of civilization. Land
transportation can take various forms, which are dependent on
the sophistication,
stage of civilization and development, and on the technical stratum of the
society in question. It can be by the use of animals (camels,
mules, horses, dogs,
etc.) or by use of machines such as wheelbarrows, carts, cars etc.
Similarly, water
transportation dates back a long time as humanity can recall. Water
transportation, as land transportation, has also been developed in
complexity, technical
superiority, and usage.
Air transportation
has its origin in the 20th century. The superiority of air transport over the
rest can be attributed the reason behind its progressive growth
and preference as the
safest modern mode of transportation.
1.1.0
BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT
The airpot terminal
is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground
transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and
disembark from the
aircra.
Within the terminal,
passengers purchase tickets, transfer their luggage, and go through security.
The buildings that provide access to the airplanes (via gates) are typically
called concoures. However, the terms terminals and concourses are used
interchangably, depending on the configuration of the airport.
Smaller airports have
one terminal while larger airports have several terminals and/or concourses. At
small airports, the single terminal building typically
serves all of the
functions of a terminal and a concourse. Some larger airports have one terminal
that is connected to multiple concourses via walkways, sky bridges, or
underground tunnels (such as Denver International Airport). Some larger
airports have more than one terminal, each with one or more concourses
(such as New York‟s
John F. Kennedy Airport). Still other larger airports have multiple terminals
each of which incorporate the functions of a concourse (such
as Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport).
According to
Frommers, most airport terminals are built in a plain style, with the concrete
boxes of the 1960s and ‟70s generally gave
way to glass boxes in the
‟90s
and ‟00s,
with the best terminals making a vague stab at incorporating ideas of light and
air. However, some, such as
Baghdad International
Airport, are monumental in stature, while others are considered architectural
masterpieces, such as Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle
Airport near Paris or
Terminal 5 at New York‟s John F. Kennedy
Airport. A few are designed to reflect the culture of a particular area, some
examples being the
terminal at
Albuquerque International Support in New Mexico, which is designed in the
Pueblo Revival Style popularized by architect John Gaw Meem, as well as the one
at Bahiasde Huatulco International Airport in Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico, which
features some palapas that are interconnected to form the airport terminal
building.