Airport-City Mixed-Use Architecture
Terminal + retail + hotel + transit hub — integrated airport-city architecture for Gulf hub operators.
Modern Gulf airport projects are no longer terminals — they're airport-cities combining the passenger building with airline lounges, branded retail districts, transit hotels, ground-transport interchanges (rail, metro, taxi, autonomous shuttle) and in some cases office and exhibition zones. Foster + Partners has been integrating these programmes since Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok's airport-island master plan and Beijing T3's GTC ground-transport-centre. The studio's airport-city work in the GCC includes the Riyadh KSAU mixed-use terminal complex (real estate adjacencies coordinated with the master plan) and Amaala airport, where the terminal sits within a luxury-tourism resort masterplan. NEOM-adjacent transport architecture work continues separately. Output published at Revit LOD 350 across the full mixed-use programme.
Key specs
| Programme mix | Terminal · Retail · Hotel · Transit · Office |
| Typical retail GLA | 30,000 – 90,000 m² |
| Transit modes integrated | Rail · Metro · BRT · Autonomous shuttle |
| Hotel keys (transit) | 200 – 600 rooms typical |
| BIM standard | Revit LOD 350 |
| Reference deployments | Beijing T3 GTC · HKG island master plan · Riyadh KSAU · Amaala |
| Coordination model | Single-team architecture + masterplan + retail + hospitality |