Schiphol Airport | Amsterdam
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is working on renewal. At the end of 2024, an architectural selection process was launched amid the greatest international interest. Three of the four airport areas have now been definitively awarded to the Joint Venture Luis Vidal + Architects | ZJA Architects & Engineers an international collaboration between the Amsterdam based international architectural studio ZJA Architects & Engineers and Luis Vidal + Architects, a global architectural studio headquartered in Spain. DELVA Landscape Architecture | Urbanism joins this team as landscape architect.
DELVA Landscape Architecture | Urbanism: “The renewal of Schiphol presents a unique opportunity to rethink the relationship between landscape, infrastructure and passenger experience. We look forward to contributing to an integrated design approach in which spatial quality, ecology and use come together.”
Global expertise and local knowledge
Where Schiphol was once designed as a ‘one-terminal’ airport, the architects will now work on its renewal as ‘one team’. ZJA Architects & Engineers designs complex projects in the fields of infrastructure, public transport and public facilities, including the large-scale renewal of Amsterdam Central Station, the Eurostar UK Terminal, Zuidasdok, the ringroads around Brussels and Antwerp and multiple parking structures for Schiphol. Luis Vidal + Architects has established a globally recognized track record in airport design and sustainable landmarks, with pioneering and worldwide multi-awarded projects including London Heathrow T2 (The Queen’s Terminal), New York JFK, Boston Logan, Denver, DFW, Pittsburgh International Airport, Madrid Barajas T4-T4S and Santiago de Chile.
One team, one shared design vision
Luis Vidal + Architects | ZJA Architects & Engineers has been awarded three of the four airport areas, addressing the challenges of improving passenger experience, environmental performance and concession offering. These will be incorporated into Schiphol Plaza including the lounges; the airport piers, gates and flow areas and the landside passenger areas and parking facilities. For the landscape design, DELVA Landscape Architecture | Urbanism joins the Luis Vidal + Architects | ZJA Architects & Engineers.
DELVA contributes to strengthening spatial cohesion and landscape identity across the landside passenger areas and parking facilities, working in close collaboration with the architects and engineering disciplines within the team. By approaching landscape as a guiding framework, DELVAaims to create a coherent, future-proof environment that responds to both functional and ecological challenges.
In addition to [Name vof] KAAN Architecten has been appointed as lead architect for the overarching design vision; Paul de Ruiter Architects for the design of the departure halls, baggage halls, and security and customs filters, and Beacon (Benthem Crouwel Architects and NACO) as airport consultant.
Working together on a recognizable Schiphol
Following stand-alone renovations over the past decades, the characteristic simplicity, authenticity and distinct identity of Schiphol’s design DNA have faded into the background. In the years ahead, many parts of the terminal will be renewed, with the aim of gradually restoring Schiphol qualitatively to the top three European hub airports.
A shared design vision must ensure that the airport retains one recognizable identity throughout this process. Passenger experience, functionality and quality are central, so that the renewed areas align closely with what travelers need. At the same time, attention is being paid to costs, maintenance, modular construction and sustainability, so that buildings and facilities remain in good condition in the long term as well. The next phase will focus on defining the conceptual development of the Area Development Plans, setting the foundation for a common design identity and coherence for Schiphol.
Find out more about developments at and around Schiphol Airport via this link.