Frankfurt Airport, Extension of Pier A-West

The A-Plus gate for up to six million passengers a year extends the areas used by Lufthansa at Terminal 1 and was required in order to be able to adequately serve the Airbus A380 and Boeing B747-8 wide-body aircraft. The design of this large project focused on three key areas: the conceptual integration of the new building into the existing ensemble while also creating an individual identity, complying with the new EU safety regulations for passenger handling, and creating a retail and lounge concept.

The “root”, the central marketplace with an extensive range of shops, restaurants and lounges, is located at the building interface between Terminal A and gate A-Plus. Its glazed, cone-shaped opening allows daylight to reach the interior, opens the view towards the sky and creates vistas across the different levels of the marketplace. Transparency and daylight combined with simple and natural materials generate a pleasant atmosphere.

Gate A-Plus extends towards the west following on from the “root” with a length of 650 meters. Owing to new EU safety regulations which state that passengers arriving from non-Schengen states must be separated from departing passengers who have already been security screened, the gate had to be designed with four upper stories. This means that gate A-Plus is higher than the existing buildings but nevertheless resonates with the existing design. The completely open space flooded with daylight provides clarity and easy orientation and offers an open view of the apron.

In spite of the differences between the gate building and the “root” area, the new development of the A-Plus area has been designed as an architectural unit and thus presents a cohesive appearance for the entire project, inside and out.