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BAA GLASGOW AIRPORT SKYHUB the value of strategic planning
1. BAA GLASGOW AIRPORT SKYHUB – THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING Stuart White is Development Director at Glasgow Airport and has been closely involved in the strategic growth of the airport for the last 10 years. Nigel Ostime is a director of architectural practice 3DReid with overall responsibility for their work across all BAA’s airports under their framework agreement. 3DReid are the only architectural practice to have been successful in being appointed under both the first and second generation framework agreements and have had an unbroken working relationship with BAA for nearly 20 years, with responsibility for over £500m of capital projects. Following publication of the Aviation White Paper in 2003 one of 3DReid’s principal successes has been in developing strategic plans at four of BAA’s airports, with the first one being Glasgow. 2. THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING How many of us who are involved in development have worked on airport projects that have involved the demolition of construction carried out by previous projects, writing off valuable assets and increasing construction timescales and operational down-time? I’d be amazed if the answer wasn’t most of us. Well-considered, strategic planning can of course avoid this and I am going to explain how, with 3DReid, we developed the plan for BAA’s Glasgow International Airport and delivered the first phase of it, Skyhub - the most comprehensive expansion of Glasgow since the 1990’s. 3. STARTING POINT
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As many of you will know, the UK Government published the Aviation White Paper in December 2003, setting out a strategic framework for the development of airport capacity in the UK over the next 30 years and setting out conclusions on the case for future expansion at airports across the country. In 2004 we asked 3DReid to consider how Glasgow could be developed to double its capacity. We also set up a team comprising our Terminal Operations, Capital Projects, Planning & Surface Access and Operational Research teams to work alongside them. The resulting plan has not only given us a clear vision for the airport, it has been estimated that it will save us over £150m of projected capital expenditure. Critically, the plan is not overly prescriptive, giving the flexibility to respond to a changing socio-economic climate as well as the unpredictable operational and security requirements. 4. STRATEGIES NOT SOLUTIONS The team followed 3 critical and discrete stages in preparing the plan: knowledge gathering, option identification and finally option evaluation: a quantitative assessment and preparation of a structured decision process.
It is important that the recommendations are not overly prescriptive, but that they are loose-fitting. They should set out the choices and the triggers at which the choices should be made. This is a critical matter. The milestones for this process are capacity in millions of passengers per annum. It is important to avoid using time as an indicator because the capacity may be realised sooner or later than the predicted date. And while the growth of airport facilities will not be directly proportional to passenger numbers it serves to illustrate the scale of the requirement. The aim of the study then is to identify key development principles which will enable future incremental projects to proceed, with confidence, 5. JUST IN TIME DELIVERY on a ‘just in time’ basis, but minimising exposure to business risk.
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With respect to Glasgow 8 principles were identified and we will outline them later on. And there are some other ‘rules of engagement’ that need to be understood and observed. 6. THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE GATHERING It is true of any design exercise, but particularly so with this sort of work, that the knowledge gathering stage is critical to the overall success of the project. It shapes the plan and gives it direction. Fundamentally this drives development of the brief. If I’m honest, as a client, we found this stage somewhat frustrating: there is little evidence of forward movement of the process but, as it became clear, it is essential that design does not commence until all the necessary inputs are in place. This cannot be stressed enough:
CLICK “Don’t start until you are ready.”
you must not start the design process until you are ready. 7. THE BUSINESS NEED The key business needs for Glasgow are to grow non-aeronautical income and increase the capacity of the terminal facilities. In 2005 Glasgow had nearly 9 mppa. Projections showed growth of around 4% pa, leading to a doubling of capacity by 2020. The situation has changed somewhat now but this only serves to demonstrate the need for the approach we are outlining here. In terms of passenger profile, Glasgow has growing international traffic – in 2004-5 growth in domestic pax was 2.2% whilst growth in international pax was 7.2%. Traffic is also very peaky across the year. Domestic traffic increases by a third from January to July. But throughput for international traffic in July is more than 4 times that for January. And the strategy is to grow international routes.
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During the knowledge-gathering stage we also undertook a SWOT analysis and took great care to understand the constraints, both physical and commercial. 8. CONTEXT So this is the airport when it opened in 1966, designed by the renowned architect Sir Basil Spence. The world has of course changed dramatically since then and the requirements for a modern airport are very different. But these needs are revealed incrementally and are difficult to predict with any accuracy. 3DReid will tell you that it is in the early stages of design that they can add the most value to a development. It is here where the big wins are possible. As the design develops, the opportunities for adding value are reduced as the parameters are narrowed. Indeed, change is to be avoided at the later stages of a project because as you know it can be very costly. 9. DRIVERS FOR CAPACITY This is an exercise in developing capacity and capacity is driven primarily by the runway or runways, so this is the starting point. In the case of Glasgow, which currently has a throughput of around 9 mppa, the runway can facilitate 32 movements per hour which can be increased to 45 by the introduction of rapid access and exit turnoffs, providing a throughput of greater than 20 mppa. The next consideration is stand capacity; followed by the terminal facilities and surface access infrastructure. 10. KEY ASSETS So, a little background information on the airport as it was in 2004. These are the principal assets.
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There are 3 piers, the one to the west serving international traffic and the other 2 for domestic. There is a hotel, a MSCP and some administrative offices here. This is the fuel farm and here is the cargo and maintenance area. A rail link is planned to connect the airport to the centre of Glasgow and this also needed to be taken account of. We will discuss this in more detail later as it will be an important factor in the future development of the airport. 11. GROUND FLOOR PLAN The airport is effectively on 2 levels. On the ground floor, domestic and international arrivals are split, with international to the west and domestic to the east. The main checkin area is in the centre of the building and whilst it sits partly within a somewhat cathedral-like, barrel-vaulted space, it becomes extremely overcrowded during peak times and suffers from cross-flows of passengers from the two arrivals halls. An additional checkin facility, ‘Terminal 2’ is located to the east. The baggage system is constrained from expansion, being located between the arrivals belts and various ancillary and administrative facilities. The forecourt comes under significant pressure during peak periods and restricts development of new products and commercial opportunities such as drop off, bus licensing, valet parking and retail opportunities. 12. FIRST FLOOR PLAN Departures is on the first floor, with the majority of the retail and catering offers.
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Retail is of course critical to BAA and accounts for over half of total revenue, a fact that at Glasgow has allowed us to reduce landing charges each year for the last 13 years, providing incentives to new and expanding airlines. And when properly planned, airside retail is something like twice as valuable as landside. The typical split at BAA airports is around 30% landside, 70% airside. At Glasgow the split was the other way around: 30% airside, 70% landside. This line represents the air/land boundary. and these are 3 separate search positions, one at the foot of each of the domestic piers and one into the IDL. Not only is the retail largely landside, it also suffers from a poor layout that doesn’t optimise footfall and penetration. And although it has views into the atrium above checkin and a high ceiling along the northern side It also has very low ceilings where a mezzanine level of ancillary offices runs above it. So those are the key features of the terminal.
13. EARLIER STUDY IN RESPONSE TO THE WHITE PAPER By the time we started this exercise, some work had already been undertaken in response to the White Paper to understand the need in terms of stand and pier configuration and these proposals expanded the airport eastwards. However, there are some key issues this approach raises and we will return to this in a moment. So armed with the necessary information, the team was able to move on to Stages 2 and 3.
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14. STAGE 2 – OPTION DEVELOPMENT I’m not going to go into the option development stage in detail but I want to emphasise that it is really important not to constrain thinking during Stage 2 and to draw out all the possible solutions without pre-judging them. It is only at the evaluation stage that options should be weighed up and recommendations made. In fact this option identification stage is a matter that BAA, more than any other client we work with, are rightly insistent on and have codified into their project process for all the work we do with them. Anyway, having drawn together all the necessary data, which included a lot of information from BAA’s Planning and Surface Access Team, whose involvement was invaluable, we could start to consider the design options. 15. EIGHT DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES Stuart mentioned that at the conclusion of the study, 8 development principles were identified and, whilst the study was not restricted to these and covered, for example, how landside surface access should be developed, including the new railway station, additional car parking, hotels, commercial offices and so on, these principles are the matters I am going to outline because it is these that will shape the development of the terminal building. So I will explain how we arrived at them and what they involve. Principle No 1 was from a business need and had been identified separately from the study. 16. PRINCIPLE 2: WESTERN INTERNATIONAL PIER Stuart explained how airfield infrastructure must govern development of the airport, and so stand configuration – and the piers that serve them – must be the first matter for consideration.
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The study identified 9 different pier options that offered potential development solutions for an increase in domestic and international traffic. The diagrammatic matrix here illustrates the various approaches. Through consultation with the stakeholders 5 were discounte as they didn’t satisfy the more immediate growth for international traffic or were deemed too difficult to implement. A more detailed assessment was then made of the remaining 5 and the conclusion was a hybrid with both east and west expansion, including a new international pier and a new domestic one. 17. PRINCIPLE 2: WESTERN INTERNATIONAL PIER Two issues stand out as worth mentioning. First of all this option allows disruption to existing stands and terminal facilities to be minimised, through phasing, but critically, whereas originally extension was to be eastwards, involving demolition and relocation of the cargo and maintenance facilities, this has been avoided. It has been estimated that this strategy saved over £150m against where development was heading before. So here we see the stand configuration for the new international pier. You will note the green lines which show two alternative routes for a proposed new rail link, one in front of the terminal and the other to the south of the MSCP. More detailed investigation of this configuration showed that more contact stands could be provided by adjusting the pier link. This involves moving the fuel farm but provides 2 additional stands. This clearly shows that the northern rail route would have an impact on future stand capacity and BAA were able to clearly demonstrate why the train station should be further away from the terminal. 18. PRINCIPLE 3: BAGGAGE EXPANSION As I mentioned earlier, this is where the baggage hall is located.
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These drawings show how the baggage system could, in principle, be extended to the west, the east or the south, with schemes developed by BAA’s internal team. It is difficult to know what technological advances will be made over the period being planned for – in terms of ticketing, check-in, security and so on – but it is clear that the baggage system, both for outbound and inbound bags should, in principle, be allowed to expand along the air/land boundary as this is the link between the airfield and the landside operation. Ultimately the decision was to expand it eastwards, where the system could continue to be extended ultimately, joining with Terminal 2. This requires moving domestic arrivals which I will return to this matter in a moment. 19. PRINCIPLES 4 & 5: CENTRAL SEARCH / COMMON USER LOUNGE Principles 4 and 5 underpin the Skyhub project: the creation of a central passenger search and a common user lounge and these two have effectively formed the first phase of delivery of the strategic plan. (Explain this.) 20. PRINCIPLE 6: CIRCULATION SPINE Checkin constrained summer peak/ cross flows/ vertical circulation. Baggage expands/ checkin expands. Spine will alleviate and will additionally provide a means of giving the airport a new public face. 21. PRINCIPLE 7: CONSOLIDATED ARRIVALS Principle 7 is to consolidate domestic and international arrivals, allowing efficiencies in the arrivals product and allowing the baggage system to expand eastwards.
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22. PRINCIPLE 8: SPLIT FORECOURT Allied to this the forecourts are to be split into departures and arrivals, pedestrianising – and potentially greening - the space outside the terminal. This will both ease congestion and provide the location for additional incomegenerating activities. This landside study became a separate exercise, with traffic management assessments as well as identification of options for the rail interface and a transport terminus. 23. THE DEVELOPED TERMINAL So the terminal in its ultimately developed form … with the checkin hall kept clear of cross-flows and circulation between ground level checkin and first floor departures provided for, as well as a new face to the terminal with a pedestrianised and potentially greened area in front of the terminal building with separate departures and arrivals forecourts and the free-flowing surface access that will provide. 24. THE DEVELOPED TERMINAL And on the first floor a 70/30 airside/ landside split in the retail, generating significantly improved revenue and a consolidated, central passenger search bringing its own operational efficiencies. So how did we translate this strategy into a capital project? 25. EXTERIOR VIEW Principles are so called because they are just that: not prescriptive architectural solutions. Planning airports as you know is a matter of process and flows. It is also important to provide flexibility to accommodate change. P’s 4&5 were the first to be executed because they provide a rate of return. Principles are loose fit.
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Skyhub principally retail but with security enabling it and this had to be first phase. The retail elements are being built at the moment with completion due later in the year. 26. CENTRAL SEARCH There was an aspiration to get as much natural light into the space as possible but without causing glare and of course recognising the need to obscure views in to what is of course a secure area from the outside. We were also working to a tight budget. The steel stanchions are uncased and there is no suspended ceiling, leaving ventilation ductwork exposed. This creates something of an industrial aesthetic and we wanted to work with it rather than against it.
27. TRANSLUCENT WALL Kalwall was the product we specified to achieve these criteria. It consists of prefabricated sandwich panels of GRP sheets and glass fibre insulation. It was also important for the products to control solar gain and be resistant to bomb blast. Kalwall was also chosen because of its good insulation values whilst still permitting good levels of natural daylight and its ability to control solar gain as this elevation faces south. Rooflights have also been included within central search to introduce daylight into the centre of the space (which of necessity is very deep) and give views of the sky and in conjunction with Kalwall further reduce the need for artificial lighting. The rooflights have been positioned to allow for a second floor to be added in the future when they will change to lightwells, continuing to provide daylight and views into the centre of the space. 28. DEVELOPING THE RETAIL CONCEPT
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Principally a retail project so retail strategy was a key consideration. Our initial work then was to analyse alternative configurations that provide the best retail layout. The brief at this time was to increase retail space and to develop new concepts in airport retail. This is a whole subject in itself … All the options located a walk through World Duty Free shop immediately after search, providing 100% penetration for the unit that provides the highest revenue. These early schemes also extended the lounge northwards although the brief was subsequently reviewed to reduce the quantity of retail space required and the plan now is to develop this at a later date. 29. COMMON USER LOUNGE The scheme also removed some mezzanine offices that restrict headroom and this is a computer generated view of it. This would have allowed for catering to be located on a new mezzanine with retail on the main floor. Unfortunately this has not been possible due to capital constraints although the scheme being delivered has been designed so as not to preclude this at a later date. 30. LOW HEADROOM One of the main challenges is to create a single, legible retail space from what are a series of spaces with differing floor and ceiling levels. There is an area with relatively low ceiling here and the duty free takes up a large part of this. 31. UNIFYING THE SPACES This opens out below the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the original Basil Spence terminal building. 32. UNIFYING THE SPACES I’ve mentioned the mezzanine offices that restrict headroom in the retail units.
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33. UNIFYING THE SPACES And the current International Departures Lounge is 1.5m higher. There is limited opportunity to open up the wall between the two spaces due to a shear wall, so this was an area for careful consideration. And this is the area as it is now. You can see the ramp connecting the two spaces and the relatively narrow opening. Work in this area is due to commence presently. 34. PROJECT OVERVIEW 3 stages Strategies not solutions Just in time delivery Importance of knowledge-gathering Capacity drivers Principles Flexibility 35. SKYHUB: THE CAKE Opening last Dec by First Minister of Scotland. First time someone has made a 1:50 scale model of one of my projects so I thought I’d leave you with an image of Skyhub: the Cake! Thank you.
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