2024-11-27
Lishui (LIJ) Airport, is Nearing Completion

Lishui (LIJ) Airport, is nearing completion and is set to open by the end of 2024.

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Located in the foothill valleys of Lishui, China, the airport’s design reflects the city’s identity as a “forest city,” integrating architecture with the surrounding natural landscape. 

The project spans 2,267 hectares, with a terminal covering 12,000 square meters. To adapt to the area's steep terrain, the airport required leveling nearly 100 meters of elevation, creating a terraced layout that integrates the terminal, parking, and office areas into descending platforms. This approach respects the land’s contours while ensuring a functional and efficient design.

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The terminal’s design conveys harmony with its environment. Ma Yansong explains, “Lishui is a garden city, and her airport should also be in a garden. As a feeder airport, Lishui Airport shows another attitude as a public transportation facility in the city: not greedy for big, but pursuing convenience and humanity, and pursuing a dialogue with the natural environment.”

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The terminal’s silver-white roof, made of aluminum panels, reflects lightness like feathers and is supported by 14 umbrella-shaped columns. Its flowing form anchors the building while maintaining openness. The roof’s 30-meter cantilever creates a welcoming concourse filled with natural light from a central skylight.

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Inside, passengers are greeted by wood-toned finishes and a human-scaled interior. The concourse height transitions from 4.5 meters at its lowest point to 13 meters at its highest, balancing intimacy and openness. The “one-and-a-half-story” layout combines arrival and departure areas into a compact, efficient space, with a double-height lobby ensuring smooth passenger flow. 

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A landscaped walkway extends from the parking area into the terminal, enhancing accessibility and connecting travelers to their surroundings.

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Designed as a domestic regional airport, Lishui features three boarding bridges and five remote stands. Its initial capacity is one million passengers annually.

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The design anticipates future growth, accommodating 1.8 million passengers by 2030 and up to 5 million by 2050. Provisions have been made for an international terminal, ensuring the airport can grow alongside the region.

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Lishui Airport
Lishui, China
2018 - 2024
 
Site Area：2,267 hectares
Building Area：12,100 sqm
Building Height：23.95 m
 
Principal Partners in Charge: MA Yansong, DANG Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: LIU Huiying, Kin Li
Design Team: SUN Shouquan, ZHANG Xiaomei, LEI Lei, YANG Xuebin, SUN Mingze, YIN Jianfeng, Punnin Sukkasem, ZHU Yuhao, ZHANG Yaohui, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Pittayapa Suriyapee, WANG Xinyi
 
Client: Lishui Airport Construction Headquarters
Executive Architects: CAAC NEW ERA AIRPORT DESIGN INSTITUTE COMPANY LIMITED
Façade Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Interior Design/Lighting consultant: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO., Ltd
Landscape Consultant: Z’scape Landscape Planning and Design

Photography: JK Wang, Liu Yongwei, Hello Lishui, MAD Architects

Video: JK Wang

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