Highly sustainable terminal
Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport is designed to be one of the world’s more environmentally sustainable airport terminal buildings.
A major part of its energy-efficient design is the use of roof lights, which is also a strong visual and environmental feature of the structure. Angled southeast on the curving roof, these lights capture the thermal energy used to heat the building on winter mornings- thus helping to minimise the building’s energy consumption. Their small size also helps reduce the building’s cooling requirements during warm summer months.
The design also incorporates other passive environmental technologies. Water consumption is minimised by adopting separate water systems for drinking and non-portable use, such as flushing toilets. Carbon emissions of the building have been reduced by minimising energy consumption with integrated environmental control systems, incorporating shading into the design to reduce the need for cooling, and combining natural daylight with intelligent use of artificial lighting.