Muscat Int’l Airport

LDPi scope entailed the exterior facade and landscape lighting of the new build Airport’s surrounding site and vehicular approaches, together with all interior lighting of public areas.

LDPi’s understanding from the outset was that this was a night-time Airport with passenger traffic at during the hours either side of mid-night, therefore the artificial lighting of the project was of importance with the visitor’s perception of the building interior and exterior. Indeed the airport building itself will act as a gateway to Muscat and to the Sultanate of Oman and as such, the building’s 5th elevation exterior and ‘fly-past’ view was the first lighting aspect to be worked-up with the Architects at conceptual stage.

For the building exterior, LDPi’s design intent was to visually float the Pier wings of the building at Apron level so as to emphasize the outreaching horizontally of the wing-span of this ‘giant bird or aeroplane’. The curved roof forms of the Piers and also of the main PTB and Concourse Entrance structures where linear lamp sources were integrated within roof ribbing details and roof edge eaves and verge conditions.

The lighting design intent for the building interiors was for integrated lighting solutions detailed within the interior fabric for both the functional and feature lighting effects so as to complement the clean lines and clear definition of the internal spaces as per the intent of the Architects and ID Consultants. In working-up the lighting proposals, LDPi therefore allowed for the enclosing envelope of the various spaces to be visually read in order that the drama of walking through from high and wide spaces into proportionally lower ceiling heights and tighter widths and then back to the taller/wider spaces could be perceived and appreciated.

Lighting techniques detailed within ceiling slot details together with floor recessed and integrated furniture lighting details at low level will allow for wayfinding and directional emphasis together with a consideration of passenger scale within the vast and dramatic internal spaces.