Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has won an international architectural competition to design the new arrivals terminal at Vilnius Airport in Lithuania.

Lithuanian Airports said it will boost Lithuania’s position as a gateway to the Baltic region while meeting predicted growth in passenger demand.
Lithuanian transport minister Eugenijus Sabutis said the old terminal had “long since ceased to meet today’s needs or the airport’s future capacity and vision”.

“As the gateway to Lithuania, the terminal creates the first impression for everyone arriving into the country,” he added.

“The very high quality of ideas in the design competition proposed the most modern, convenient solutions that can adapt to the airport’s future requirements.”

Lithuanian Airports chief executive Simonas Bartkus said ZHA’s terminal would be “an excellent business card for all visitors”.

It will handle up to 10.6 million passengers a year.

Aiming for BREEAM Excellent

ZHA said the design draws from the rhombus, a type of parallelogram with meaning in Baltic folklore.

It will integrate with the airport’s ongoing development as a multi-modal transport hub, and will include a high-speed rail station for the planned Rail Baltica megaproject.

Its pleated roof will be finished in timber from local forests. Rhomboid and triangular skylights will let natural light in.

ZHA said the design aims for a BREEAM Excellent rating, with passive design features mitigating summer heat gain and a double-insulated glazing system combined with hybrid natural and smart ventilation systems that learn daily passenger flows and adjust automatically to reduce energy consumption.

A 13,000-sq-m solar array will go on the roof. Rain and greywater will be filtered and stored.