Supplier
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Haj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah)
Aga Khan Award-winning tensile fabric Hajj terminal.
SOM's Haj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, completed in 1981, is one of the most influential airport buildings in the world. Its tensile fabric canopies form 210 modular units covering roughly 465,000 sqm and shade up to 80,000 pilgrims at a time during peak Hajj season. The terminal won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983 and remains in active service, a rare longevity milestone for any aviation building.
Haj Terminal, King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah)
terminal · design · architecture
AVS·CAT
Product at a glance
- Category
- terminal design architecture
- Launched
- 1981
- Price tier
- enterprise
- GCC sites
- 1
- Status
- ● Current model
Technical specifications
Key specs
| Completed | 1981 |
| Peak capacity | 80,000 pilgrims simultaneously |
| Canopy area | ~465,000 sqm |
| Number of fabric modules | 210 |
| Design approach | Open-air tensile fabric, passive ventilation |
| Award | Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1983 |
Compatibility
Works with
- Operates as overflow/pilgrim processing alongside main terminals
- Integrates with Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah workflows
Certifications
Approvals
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Best for
Typical use cases
Use case 1
Peak-event Hajj and Umrah pilgrim processing.
Use case 2
Reference for large-span passive shading structures.
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