The Design Solution leads interiors at new Delhi terminal

The Design Solution is leading the interior design of new Delhi International Airport T3, which is expected to deal with 34 million passengers a year in eight years’ time.

The building, for domestic and international flights, is due to open for the Commonwealth Games in September 2010.

A brief was given to the consultancy in summer 2008 to look at food, beverage and retail offers within landside and airside departure and arrival lounges.
Associate director Philip Newman, who led the design, says the consultancy conducted a study with research analyst Pragma to determine passenger flow and space requirements.

The decision was taken to increase the mezzanine floor space and extend the building size. ‘We’ve managed to match meterage with projected footfall,’ says Newman.

A ‘Delhi Bazaar’ centrepiece will be created, to demonstrate an understanding of Delhi’s culture through contemporary design,’ Newman says. The structure is inspired by the trellis-cast ‘shadowing’ in traditional markets, but timber, carvings and brass have been replaced with glass and steel.

Newman likens the departure screens to Philippe Starck’s citrus squeezer. The screens will stand on four 7m-tall stilts underneath a curved screen with a 2.5m radius.

The international lounges are led by contemporary design, and the domestic lounges by traditional. This is evident in a frieze pattern lighting the edge of the mezzanine floor spaces in both areas, Newman says.

The Design Solution created the interior of the T1 building, which opened earlier this year. Larsen & Toubro is the architect and developer for both builds.