Formica^® Laminate lands at new Bergen Airport terminal

As Norway's second busiest airport, it was in need of modernising to accommodate growing passenger traffic as well as future-proof to facilitate further expansion. For this reason, Formica^® Compact was specified to clad the internal walls of its public spaces and customs area.

To meet the growth challenge, Avinor the state owned operator of civil airports in Norway set an international design contest for the expansion of the original octagonal building. The winning scheme by Nordic – Office of Architecture features a brand new 63,000 m², eight-tier modular air terminal with greater flexibility and a scalable shape.

The region surrounding Bergen airport is dominated by fjords, valleys and mountains which the architects at Nordic used as design inspiration. Formed in the shape of a pair of spread wings they were able to successfully complement and reference the landscape. Extensive use of glass in the new Terminal 3 (T3) provides a light and airy space which when combined with the timber ceiling, oak slats and Formica laminate gives the interior a warm and unmistakably Scandinavian feel.

Eskild Anderson, partner at Nordic – Office of Architecture, comments: “We were impressed with the high quality of the specified compact laminate as it was the ideal material for such a busy airport environment. Its aesthetic appeal, durability and affordability was also a big draw as it will support the building’s good looks while meeting budgetary constraints.”

Guy Donathy, European Category Marketing Manager at Formica Group comments: “With such a huge increase in passenger numbers and the requirement to be future-ready, our Formica Compact wall cladding is the ideal material for high footfall areas where there’s a need for heavy-duty impact resistance.

“Formica Compact is a great surfacing choice for large internal spaces such as airport terminals. Non-porous and water resistant, the wall cladding is hygienic and easy to clean, an important consideration in an area where large numbers of people congregate at any given time.”

Bergen was originally built to handle 2.8 million passengers, the additional 7.5 million capacity of T3 will increase the airport's passenger processing capability to ten million a year. Its design and build cost is estimated to be $590m.

A total area of 4000 m² was clad in 12mm Formica Compact. Shades of Soft White, Storm and Xenon were used to cover the terminal’s public spaces with Blaze Red and Spectrum Green colours used in the customs area.

The new terminal is environmentally sound as it was constructed with 70 percent recycled steel and natural stone. It is also climate neutral, using 20 percent less energy than stated in current building regulations.