The winning concept, designed by Nikhil Bang and Kaushal Tatiya from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), transforms Indira Gandhi International Airport into a forward-thinking, sustainable multimodal hub that mitigates the environmental impacts of air travel while enhancing mobility across New Delhi, India—one of the most populated and polluted cities in the world. The design, dubbed “the Green Gateway,” proposes a future where airports are more than buildings; they provide a seamless connection to the cultural context of the site, from their planning to their form and materiality. a diverse spectrum of design concepts to improve the airport passenger terminal building, addressing the key factors such as futuristic transportation technologies, urbanization, globalization, technology, flexibility, security, project feasibility, and passenger experience”.
Embracing sustainable design strategies, the zero-emission concept features a decentralized system of one central terminal and six towers dispersed throughout the city. The towers provide a dual purpose, working as both air-purifying centers and stations for flying cars. This solution significantly improves mobility across the city by replacing domestic flights as one of the major sources of pollution. The students’ submission describes the airport’s design as “zero-emission at the macro and micro level, improving mobility across the city by replacing domestic flight as one of the major sources of pollution and making air travel a personal affair.”