With the launch of International flight, T2 of Bengaluru Airport offers a glimpse of Karnataka’s rich cultural heritage to all fliers
As international flights commenced from T2 of Kempegowda-International-Airport, the “terminal in a garden”, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) over a period of four years is all set to offer delightful peek into Bengaluru’s “garden city” heritage to both foreign and domestic passengers.
Wrapped in Bamboo cladding The Terminal 2 (T2) of Benguluru Airport takes leaf’ out of Changi Airport. With Sixty artworks capturing the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka,the terminal fuses the ethnic with the futuristic and the aesthetic with the efficient amid a lush green design.
The architecture complements a series of landscape experiences that weave nature into the travellers’ journeys.
According to Peter Lefkovits of SOM, “The idea was to radically reimagine travel experience by connecting passengers to nature along each step of their journey.”
The terminal 2 manifests Karnataka’s rich heritage and culture, and Bharata’s Natyashastra’s Naurasa or nine emotions. Sixty artworks which include artist Krishnaraj Chonat’s copper sculpture suspended at the boarding piers, MA Rauf’s Bidri art installation, and Anupama Hoskere’s wood puppets near the boarding gates, the artworks at T2 command the attention of passengers’ making their transit an unforgettable experience.
Paying an ode to the vibrant and varied landscape of Karnataka throughout the complex interior plantings, exterior gardens, and rich natural materials connect passengers to nature and to local culture.
Local influences are perceptible as the furnishings are custom-made and clad in traditionally woven rattan while locally sourced ivory brown granite is used extensively. The ceiling, made of layers of cross-laid engineered bamboo, filters light much like a garden pavilion.
In the retail portion of the terminal, a soliloquy of indoor waterfalls matches the magnificent aesthetics of the boulders and waterways of Karnataka.
The landscape seamlessly links indoors and outdoors as hanging gardens at check-in areas, terraced gardens in the main retail space offers a recreational area before boarding a flight.
