30.05.07
Gained inspiration from the world of the iPod
From 1 June 2007, all passengers will go through the new central security checkpoint. More screening points, more square metres and more state-of-the-art technological equipment will make it easier and more comfortable for passengers to be screened. The architect behind the terminal extension was inspired by the design used in the world of the iPod in his creation of a modern, streamlined façade expression.
The technical equipment is currently being installed; the floors have been sanded, and the walls have been painted. It still looks a little chaotic, as things do at a building site two weeks before opening. On 1 June, the new central security checkpoint will be ready for use for the roughly 21,000 locally departing passengers per day.
An integral part of the airport
In May 2006, the first lines were drawn in the design of the new central security checkpoint. To make it easy for passengers to get from the check-in areas to security screening, the airport decided to expand the terminal area and build a new 2,300-square-metre security checkpoint at the first floor level. The new central security checkpoint is now an integral part of the airport and thus emphasises the great importance security screening holds today in the aviation industry.
Increased capacity
At a cost of more than DKK 200 million, construction of the new centralised checkpoint is yet another in a series of many investments made in recent years to comply with stricter regulatory requirements to security. The new central checkpoint will have 16 screening points, doubling the combined capacity of the current checkpoints at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.
Design based on security staff experience
Each detail in the new security checkpoint has been scrutinised several times in close collaboration with representatives from the Security Department to ensure that the airport is acquiring the most functional equipment:
”The equipment was selected on the basis of staff knowledge of and experience with working at a checkpoint. To the extent possible, we have translated staff wishes into technical solutions. Whenever we were in doubt about whether to choose one solution or another, we tested the options in real life,” said Project Manager Eva Holm-Jørgensen. The interior design process included acoustics in the room, daylight, temperature, and access to kitchen and toilet facilities.
State-of-the-art functional equipment
The technical equipment must be able to withstand a great deal of wear and tear. For this reason, the main material used at the checkpoints is stainless steel. As something new, there will be a return system for the trays used in screening clothes, computers, etc. so that the trays automatically roll from the end of the belt back to the beginning. This reduces staff back strain and saves time.
“We have optimised work routines at the security checkpoint as much as possible, so that the security staff have the best possible working conditions and can concentrate on screening passengers instead of having to spend time moving trays,” adds Holm-Jørgensen.
A parallel to the world of the iPod
The jatoba wood floors, glass facades and stainless steel structures of the new checkpoint echo what is used in the airport’s other terminal buildings. The project architects gained inspiration from the world of the iPod. The northern facade of the extension, made of glass, protrudes from the body of the terminal like a pulled bow which, according to the architect, is a design parallel to the streamlined, mirror-like and reflecting expression of the iPod. The architect, Niels Evert of Holm & Grut Architects, has dubbed the security checkpoint “the world’s largest iPod”.
Inside the building, daylight and the high ceilings make the 2,300-square-metre security area easy to find one's way around in, welcoming and easily accessible for passengers.
From the security checkpoint, passengers go into the central part of the transit area, where they can do the shopping many passengers see as an integral part of their travel experience.