Madrid Barajas Airport

(image via: E-Architect )

Spain recently opened the new Madrid Barajas Airport and it’s quite an improvement from the original, dating from 1933. The updated terminal is huge - 1.2 million square feet - and is capable of processing up to 75 million visitors annually

(image via: Giramondo1 )

The architects - Richard Rogers Partnership with Estudio Lamela - took pains to make the new airport’s passenger and baggage terminals as environmentally friendly as possible, orienting them in a north-south direction and using passive design features to reduce the need for energy-intensive heating and cooling as much as possible. Note that the ceilings used bamboo in a dramatic fashion.