Completed in just four years, one of the largest buildings in the world was inaugurated in Beijing today without much pomp and circumstance. Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport is a state-of-the art building designed by British architectural firm Foster + Partners, which seems to be involved in most of the new constructions opening worldwide. The massive terminal, 1.3 million square meters, mostly under one roof, is supremely important for China's 2008 Olympics, and is one of many buildings in the capital signed by Western architects.
By 2020 it is estimated that the terminal will accommodate a frightening 50 million passengers per year. Environmentalists concerned about the increase in pollution in a city where athletes competing in the 2008 Olympics will be gasping for clean air, are not impressed by the engineering firm Arup's claims that Terminal 3 is the one of the world's most environmentally sustainable airports...
photograph courtesy of Fosters + Partners
