Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Every year, Cambodia attracts some 2.5 million international tourists, a mere fraction of those that neighboring countries like Thailand and Vietnam receive. But in the country’s capital city, Phnom Penh, there’s something that might just change those statistics: a new international airport, designed by the renowned architecture firm Foster + Partners.
Nestled just 18 miles south of the city center, Techo International Airport seeks to embody Cambodian heritage through its architecture. From the outside, visitors encounter the airport’s curved steel grid shell, whose rhythms resemble the rising and falling of waves. Inside, these undulating forms continue in via the vaulted ceilings, their dramatic curves and arches meant to evoke the architectural language of Cambodia’s many palaces and temples. Interior and exterior soffits alike are clad with latticed designs, inspired by traditional basket weaving and whose gaps filter sunlight into the terminal space throughout the day. At night, a warm artificial lighting system integrated within the soffit’s layers flips on, offering a more tranquil atmosphere.
“The modular lightweight shell structure and layered soffit filters daylight into the building, allowing people to experience the evolving qualities of the external environment throughout the day,” Nikolai Malsch, senior partner at Foster + Partners, explained in a statement. “Interior materials are warm and welcoming to ensure the highest level of passenger comfort, while reinforcing the country’s unique identity.”
These organic forms perfectly complement the airport’s greenery, ranging from native Romduol trees to tropical palms and flowers. Cambodia’s local character is also captured through the 200 hand-crafted sculptures that pepper the terminal, including a monumental bronze-cast Buddha. Situated at the heart of Techo, the nine-ton, 30-foot-tall Buddha was blessed by monks before planes could begin taking off and landing at the airport earlier this fall.
Aside from cultural symbolism, Foster + Partners also emphasized convenience and efficiency. Techo International Airport minimizes passenger confusion through its clear sight lines, short walking distances, and simple orientation, per Malsch. In fact, he claims that the terminal’s maximum walking distance is just 550 yards from center to end.
“It’s a very simple binary decision,” Malsch told CNN Travel. “Walking to the gates, you come to a point where your gate is either left or it’s right.”
This terminal, however, is only one element of the airport’s larger development plans. Foster + Partners is currently working on a high-speed rail link, which will ultimately create an inter-model hub, as well as a green public plan. The terminal’s southern pier is also slated to open in 2030.
“Techo International Airport is a celebration of Cambodian culture and light, forming a new gateway to the country,” Stefan Behling, head of studio at Foster + Partners, said in a statement. “The terminal holistically transforms the experience of travel for the people of Cambodia and the millions of visitors who will travel through here every year.”
To learn more about Techo International Airport, visit the Foster + Partners website.
Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, is now home to Techo International Airport, designed by Foster + Partners.
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Photo: Krzysztof Szymanski / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nikolai Malsch / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
The airport seeks to embody Cambodian heritage through its organic architectural forms, hand-made statues, and indoor greenery.
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Photo: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
