A Garden City

Enter Projects Asia has designed, delivered, and constructed the interiors of the 12,000sqm departures area of Kempegowda International Airport. The space which contains retail, hospitality and relaxation areas was designed using over 9km of natural, biodegradable rattan and features handwrought techniques at a previously unimagined scale.

Taking inspiration from the 20th-century Garden City urban planning movement, upon which Bangalore is based, the client BIAL Ltd. wished to reimagine a future in which the best of the city and the countryside could coexist to create a utopian present for the airport’s 20 million annual visitors.

Keane and his team understood that there was another way to achieve the functions of enclosure, shelter, segregation, privacy, and conventional building requirements by using the suite of softer, more nature-based materials for which EPA is known. Having studied the super airports of the last few decades Keane challenged himself to conceive a next-generation design as an antithesis to the often beautiful, yet utilitarian, corporate spaces that prioritised unsustainable panel materials.

EPA developed its signature design language and harnessed its unique handmade approach to create a series of curvaceous, sculptural rattan pods at an exponentially larger scale than previously imagined. The largest of the airport’s 9 pods stands at nearly 8m high and the project overall used over 9km of rattan.

Functionally, the largest of the pods, houses a Wolfgang Puck eaterie, features 750 sqm of internal floor space, a huge internal staircase, a small gazebo, and its own garden. The remaining pods will be occupied by world-renowned brands such as Valentino and Hotel Chocolate along with one dedicated to traditional Indian arts and crafts.

The use of sustainable, biodegradable materials, extends further into what Keane refers to as 'grassroots sustainability': EPA works with Thai craftspeople traditionally employed in the moribund rattan furniture industry and provides a new lifeline for these heritage craft communities. Each section of the vast design was handwoven at EPA’s Bangkok factory in line with the practice’s bespoke logistics software which models the fragmentation of the overall design into smaller sections for the most efficient, economical, and sustainable shipping solutions. This merging of novel high-tech software and handmade craft, along with the prioritisation of natural materials defines the practice’s award-winning approach to innovation and sustainability.

‘If you think of rattan structures, bamboo framing, handmade elements, you think ‘wellness retreat, somewhere remote.’ But now you're seeing it in an airport where they're welcoming 20 million visitors a year. Wellness has become mainstream. If you touch a pod, it feels like a tree. It doesn't feel like a wall". EPA is redefining these materials and their applications, showcasing sustainability and innovation at a previously unseen commercial scale.