Brussels Airport’s Connector celebrating five years of successful operation
The Brussels Airport Connector building, designed by Chapman Taylor, is celebrating five years since its opening on 24 March 2015.
In 2011, Chapman Taylor won an architecture competition in association with Buro Happold London and Moss Architects and Engineers in Brussels to design the new Connector building at Brussels Airport. The building links the two existing passenger terminals at the airport and replaces a 200m walkway tunnel.
Designed as a spacious, sustainable, state-of-the-art building to improve air passenger comfort, Connector provides world-class retail, security screening and border control, positioning Brussels Airport as one of the leading airports in Europe.
Connector covers a surface area of 4,600m², with glass façade and skylights maximising the use of natural light. The building was designed so that passengers always walk towards the daylight, which helps guide them on their journey. Intelligent integrated design solutions such as this reduce requirements for additional signage, lighting and staffing, creating cost savings and result in a more intuitive passenger experience.
Acoustic performance, radar reflections and resistance to jet-blast were all considered in the façade design. The east and west façades are both protected from solar gains, with the west façade incorporating sunscreens and the east façade employing solar fins with an aero foil form to prevent the sun from overheating the interior of the building.
Connector uses Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) for cooling and heating purposes. The STES system uses groundwater as its source, covering about 70% of the energy needed to heat the building and about 30% of the energy needed for cooling it. Other measures to reduce energy and water consumption include maximum use of LED lighting and a rainwater harvesting system that collects rain from the roof of the building in a 670,000-litre-capacity reservoir which is then used for sanitary facilities and to clean waste containers.
The airport is well supported by public transport, with direct rail links to prominent towns such as Brussels, Mechelen, Antwerp, Bruges, Kortrijk and Mons, as well as The Netherlands.
Congratulations to Brussels Airport and to everyone at the Connector building on five successful years!