Work has started on building a Foster + Partners-designed international airport on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which was "inspired by the colours and textures of the desert landscape".
Named the Red Sea International Airport, the building was designed by Foster + Partners as part of The Red Sea Project tourist development.
Earlier this year construction began on the airport, which is being built around 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Red Sea, with site levelling currently underway.
The Red Sea International Airport was designed by Foster + Partners
Set to complete next year, the airport has been designed to reach a capacity of one million passengers a year by 2030.
It will almost exclusively serve tourists visiting The Red Sea Project tourist development, which is being developed nearby and will include a ring-shaped hotel on stilts above the Red Sea and a resort built among the Saudi Arabian sand dunes designed by Foster + Partners. Departure lounges will be placed in dune-like pods
The form of the airport was informed by the desert that surrounds it. Visuals show a series of five dune-like pods that are arranged radially around a central drop-off and pick-up space.
Each of these pods will contain a departure lounge that will have spas and restaurants. Between the pods, spaces filled with greenery will be created for the first stage of the arrivals process.
Each of the five pods can be operated independently as a "mini terminal", meani...