MVRDV to deliver ‘Czech Lanterns’ terminal extension at Prague Airport

MVRDV and NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) have won the international competition to design the Terminal 1 extension project at Václav Havel Airport in Prague, Czech Republic.

Each building’s facade will be wrapped in a programmable LED screen displaying satellite images of the country, creating three “Czech Lanterns” with separate spaces for a security center, business lounge, hotel, conference center, and parking facilities.

The first phase of construction will culminate in two buildings that help to consolidate security and passenger departure activities into one “seamless” process. MVRDV says it is designed as a “table-like, hybrid structural approach based on four supporting cores and large uninterrupted spans forming the flexible base for the new buildings. Concrete and steel are necessary for parts of the structure, while glued laminated timber joists support lightweight hollow concrete floors to reduce the structure’s embodied carbon.”

It will extend eastward from the existing structure and is made with transparent views of the airfield and surrounding landscape design to reduce the stress of travelers’ check-ins.

The second phase culminates in another emerald green “twin” to the security expansion. Matching the size and structural principles of both, the building is designed to be as flexibly configurable as possible and will likely be used to support the airport’s handling needs. Printed glass used on the facade reduces solar gains and combines with a photovoltaic array to make the project more energy-efficient. A landscaping program comprised of local vegetation is enacted between the structures to create a “forest-like” environment surrounding the terminal.

A third and final structure on the other side of the site plays host to the conference venue and hotel, designed to resolve its triangular plot. A five-story grand entry lobby welcomes passengers into the building, designed again for flexibility considerations and the moderate expansion of services over time.

“Most airport experiences these days have become detached from any sense of place, or any sense of control for the traveler,” MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas said in a statement. “At Prague, this will soon be different. As you pass through security, you will feel surrounded by the greenness of the Czech landscape — in the ceiling, which shows its green landscapes and in the courtyards nearby, which host plants that are recognizable from the Czech biotope. The experience will give a sense of calm and control… a moment to feel grounded, just before you take off. Coming back to the Czech Republic, it gives a sense of return, with the three Czech Lanterns guiding you home from afar.”

“We are very happy that the competition attracted extraordinary interest among architects, including foreign ones. The object of the Terminal 1 centralized security screening point, together with the developed solution for the Terminal 2 expansion, will become the cornerstone of a large-scale mosaic of a strategically important project; completing the capacity-building process for the terminal and raising the airport to a new level of competitiveness and resilience in the future,” Jiří Kraus, Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors and representative for Václav Havel Airport Prague, added finally.

No construction timelines for the project were available at press time.