SAMOO and Incheon International Airport

Since its opening in 2001, Incheon International Airport has continued to make development in the field of air transportation including airport operations, services, and cargo, establishing itself as a gateway to Korea and a center of air transportation in Northeast Asia.
SAMOO has been continuously participating in the Incheon Airport Construction Project by carrying out projects such as the Incheon Airport Complex Transportation Center, the 1st Passenger Terminal Facility Improvement Project, and the 2nd Passenger Terminal Construction Project Management Service.

Incheon International Airport
Phase 4 Construction Project

Currently, Incheon International Airport is implementing a phase 4 construction project to meet future air transport demand to take a step ahead in competing with other airports.
Incheon International Airport will leap forward to becoming a first-class mega-hub airport that can handle 600,000 flights a year, 16 million passenger capacity, and 6.3 million tons of cargo a year by completing phase 4 by 2024.
Terminal 2 expansion is the most significant part of the phase 4 construction. Through an increase of 34.7 million square meters of facility area, it will consist of a total of 73.5 million square meters, 71 boarding gates, and a capacity of 52 million passengers per year.

Incheon International Airport Phase 4

In 2017, SAMOO Consortium, which is a partnership of SAMOO, NOW, JUNGLIM, and Gansam Architects' offices, was selected as the architect of the expansion project of Terminal 2.
We completed the design service within about 47 months, from August 2017 to May 2021.
The design goal of the Terminal 2 Expansion Project is to create a new landmark of Incheon Airport through a distinctive terminal concept, provide various experiences to passengers, and complete an eco-friendly terminal with the latest ICT technology.

A Unique Landmark

The second passenger terminal, which initially opened in 2018, will be completed through phase 4 construction.
The main focus of the design is to succeed the design concept of phase 3 and create a new landmark for phase 4 while forming a sense of harmony and unity with the existing building.
While maintaining the existing building, the overlapping of the new layers ranging from the check-in hall to the north wing will become a new landmark at Incheon Airport, forming the unique shape of phase 4.
The continuous layout of the modularized roof creates a sense of rhythm, staging a new entrance view for passengers visiting the terminal.
In addition, energy use will be reduced by the natural lighting provided through the north-facing clerestory, which will also allow passengers to experience the open scenery in the sky on their way to the boarding zone.

Floating in the Clouds

The design concept of the interior space of Terminal 2 is the view of the sky that captures the excitement of the trip.
It offers a variety of impressions and experiences to passengers who are leaving for a new destination by staging the space in a way as if they are walking under the clouds.
With the design motif of a smooth white-toned curve, the scenery of the sky is placed throughout the space, making passengers who visit Incheon International Airport feel excited about the trip. In addition, various artworks such as kinetic sculpture, multi-media, and media-wall are provided to interact with passengers, building up their expectations for the trip.

At the end of the North Wing, outdoor courtyards are presented in Incheon International Airport for the first time.
To accommodate various programs, a traditional garden is designed on the east side and a modern sculpture park on the west side, providing new experiences to passengers waiting for boarding or transferring through Incheon Airport.

Also, the space for the arrivals is colorfully composed. There are arrival corridors consisting of dynamic space full of five senses, and baggage reclaim halls with various artworks. Those are planned to relieve the fatigue of travel and provide dynamic first impressions of Korea.
In the welcome hall, various media contents are provided as well as flight departure information through a large media facade, and lighting art is installed to create an emotional space.

New-Technology

To create a state-of-the-art, first-class airport that leads the future airport industry, we rigorously reviewed and applied new technologies leading the times.
To improve passenger convenience and safety, self-check-in and backdrop areas are created to encourage self-service, and advanced CT security search equipment and self-boarding gates are introduced.
In addition, various AI robots such as autonomous driving robots, quarantine robots, and baggage transport robots are placed in the correct positions to provide future smart airport services to passengers.

New-Normal

In line with the changing times, we have set new standards for airport planning, reflecting various needs.
By installing remote boarding bridges minimizing the effects of the climate, passengers using bus gates can board the plane more conveniently and comfortably without going up and downstairs.
As a specialized space inside the terminal, there are high-quality rest facilities and family toilets where you can see the runway. These are provided to improve the quality and convenience of the trip.
Also, there are support facilities such as negative pressure rooms and special quarantine waiting areas to operate a thorough K-prevention system in special situations such as the pandemic.
In order to improve the welfare of airport workers, the staff convenience facilities are located in the center of the second floor, and separate rest areas are provided in the airside area, improving the safety of airport operation and reflecting social issues such as ESG management.

Full-BIM

The large facilities with a total floor area of 73.5 million square meters were drawn, designed, and planned in Full-BIM, which is an Integrated model including the airport-specific facilities such as BHS and mobile boarding bridges. Also, various programs, such as CATIA, were used to deliver a free-form design.
By using this Full-BIM, the agenda was to integrate and organize the design of each field, such as structure, mechanics, and electricity.
Real-time collaboration through Full-BIM minimized errors caused by interference between each field and improved the consistency of drawings.
In addition, we actively utilized the Full-BIM model in various fields such as simulation and video production, introducing digital convergence technology in the field of architectural design.

SAMOO & AIRPORT

Along with the history of Incheon Airport, SAMOO has enhanced its capabilities as a global professional designer based on various experiences and performances from the planning to operation stages in the field of airport design.
Through participation in Myanmar's Hanthawaddy International Airport BOT, Yangon International Airport BOT, and Russia's Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk International Airport F/S project, we performed the role as a consultant in the airport project planning stage through reviewing air demand and establishing optimal development strategies and master plan.
In addition, for the Puerto Princessa Airport project in the Philippines, we carried out the entire project from the initial bidding stage of the EPC TK project to the completion.

Now, through the experience of designing the Incheon Airport Terminal 2 expansion project, SAMOO has raised its position as an architectural design partner that provides optimal professional services to various platforms in the aviation industry.