Well before Bangalore became known as a center of high-tech and information industries, it earned the moniker “the Garden City of India” in response to its plentiful public parks and a temperate climate that nurtures a broad range of flora. The New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) leaned into this horticultural legacy in its design of Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport, the rapidly growing transit hub about 20 miles north of the city now known as Bengaluru. “The streets in Bangalore are often lined with trees, and the city has a rich history of landscape design,” says Laura Ettelman, the managing partner for the project. “The idea was to create a terminal in a garden,” says Roger Duffy, a former design partner at SOM.
From the moment travelers arrive at the new terminal to the time they spend waiting to board their planes, they find themselves surrounded by trees, plants, and flowers—many hanging from the terminal’s bamboo-lattice ceiling, others growing on green walls, and some in a “forest belt” between the building and the 11 new aircraft gates. Landscaped outdoor spaces play a vital role in the project’s design, establishing a remarkable degree of indoor-outdoor fluidity for a modern airport with all the standard security protocols. The greenery was a response to Indian cultural practices, sustainability concerns, and a local climate that’s comfortable for most of the year, thanks to Bengaluru’s altitude of about 3,000 feet above sea level.
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