Siem Reap International Airport, New TerminalNSRIA Co Ltd

Cambodia’s unique cultural context provided an interesting challenge for the design of the new International Airport. Our underlying design philosophy was to respond to this context and ground the building in a sense of place. Conceived as a series of pavilions within an open landscape complex, the development comprises retail, office, conference, hotel, transport, and various other activities. Passengers arrive by car, bus, coach and water taxi, proposed to travel all the way to and from Phnom Penh. Arriving at the water taxi basin, the visitor is presented with a spatial experience between simple, elegant buildings that act as coulisse or stage setting for the active streetscape between. Overhead, the scheme is both unified and made memorable by a grand flower canopy derived from historical motifs seen in geometric murals at the nearby khmer temples such as Angkor Wat. This canopy not only provides services, lighting, weather cover and a dramatic drainage system for the monsoons, but also illuminates at night as a field of lush tropical flowers seen from the plane window on landing or take-off.

Value: Undisclosed