Honorable Mention: International Architecture Awards 2024
Tolmachevo Airport | Novosibirsk, Russia | 2023

Architects: SPEECH Architectural Office
Lead Architects: Sergei Tchoban, Igor Chlenov, and Alexey Shubkin
General Contractor: Spectrum Group
Client: Novaport
Photographers: Dmitry Chebanenko

Novosibirsk Tolmachevo International Airport named after A. I. Pokryshkin has been operating since 1957 and today is the largest transit air hub of Russia beyond the Urals. In 2020 the reconstruction of the complex started. As part of it`s first stage the south-western part of the airport territory was allocated for the construction of a new terminal building, which is now connected to the block of the existing terminal building by means of a covered gallery.

The southern facade of the new building has got three main entrance groups, one of which is located in the center of the high part of the building and works for the entrance of departing passengers to the arrival/ departure hall. The other two entrance groups are designed for arriving passengers and are located along the edges of the high part of the terminal, symmetrically relative to the central entrance group. The facades of the new terminal are a single continuous glass "ribbon".

The stained glass of the jumbo format (6 by 3 m) is mounted on a steel cable-stayed structure and fills the interior of the terminal with daylight as much as possible. From above, the building is accentuated by a visor in the form of a reverse prism with a cantilever extension of 11 meters. This element is finished with polished stainless steel, which is covered with a special matting varnish. Four 30-meter columns are the key elements of the main arrival/departure hall. They are made up of structural ribs, into which LED lighting is mounted. In the upper part, the ribs expand, which makes them look like turbines. Structurally, they support glass roof lights, and at the same time symbolize the function of the building.