Marseille Provence Airport has approved a €250m ($298m) airport expansion plan to handle between 12m-16m passengers by 2027, significantly more than the present 8.5m capacity at the airport. [The 12m total excludes passengers using the MP2 terminal-Ed].

 

The new 20,000sq m extension will include a significant increase in shops and services and act as a link between the present terminal facilities to ‘join up’ the airport as a more coordinated and self-contained design. This will effectively connect halls A and B of terminal 1 and centralize many functions, including security controls.

 

Foster + Partners was named as the winning design team late last week by JC Gaudin, the Mayor of Marseille, alongside other dignitaries who included Renaud Muselier, President of the region; Martine Vassal, President of the Departmental Council; JL Chauvin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and several others.

 

 

CREATING A ‘PRIMARY GATEWAY’

The airport and its designers say that when complete, they hope the extension will underline that Marseille is ‘the primary gateway to Provence’. This is obviously a clear attempt to not only ‘future-proof Marseille until 2046, but also try to wrestle back some of the significant international development initiative that has been adopted by its rival at Nice Airport.

 

Describing its new design for the airport extension, Foster + Partners said: “The design restores the clarity of layout and expression in Fernand Pouillon’s 1960s original, while adding the ‘missing piece’ to the 1992 extension by Richard Rogers to tie the entire ensemble of buildings together.

 

“Phase I of the project will create a new ‘Coeur’ – literally, heart in French – that rationalises arrival and departure sequences within a single building, creating an intuitive progression through the terminal for passengers.

 

 

SIMPLIFYING THE PASSENGER FLOWS…

“The Coeur is a 22-metre-high glazed hall whose structural expression echoes that of the Pouillon building, with its inverted beam roof, heroic 33-metre-deep span and a continuous grid of glass skylights.

 

“Clad with stainless-steel, the skylights act like giant lanterns, bringing natural light and air deep into the building. Large indoor trees bring a sense of calm to the space, helping create a relaxing environment.”

 

Grant Brooker, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners said the company is seeking to simplify the flow of people between the buildings and the movement of passengers from landside to airside and vice versa – using a simple linear diagram with departing passengers passing through first floor security into a large double-height space animated by shops and restaurants.

 

PANORAMIC TERRACE IS PLANNED

Brooker added that this area provides clear view of the aircraft and landing bays, with the lounges and panoramic terrace situated on the upper levels. While this first phase will unite all the buildings into one, the second will add an additional pier with 12 aerobridges.

 

In 2016, Marseille Provence Airport handled a total of 8.5m passengers and 55,900 tonnes of freight – placing it as the fourth largest airport in France in terms of passenger traffic.

 

The airport currently hosts 34 airlines serving over 100 destinations in 25 countries. Last year the airport’s turnover amounted to €134m ($159m).