A new project from the Paris firm BOIFFILS Architectures at Changi Airport in Singapore has created a more “fluid gateway into the city” defined by gardens and a sensitivity to user experience that’s spread between its many varied elements and densities. 

Their renovation and expansion of the existing Terminal 2 structure from the early 90s spans three levels, improving user comfort and passenger experience for travelers in a way that infuses calming stimuli and “[romanticizes] the airport experience” on the whole.

More than others, this was a project that relied on a unique relationship between the client and design team. Managing Director Basile Boiffils explains: “Our proposal placed the priority on the traveler experience rather than on the management of passenger flow.”

The firm’s extensive retail and hospitality design experience informed their work throughout. Columns are covered in vegetation, which offsets a rich earth-toned materials palette. The check-in process was made quicker and more efficient with the inclusion of an open floor plan beset by island-shaped automated kiosks and baggage drop belts that avoid the presence of imposing traditional linear counters. 

These elements are key to the project’s underlying goal to reduce stress by incorporating nature and were accomplished in spite of the introduction of cost-effective considerations midway necessitated by a loss of revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The islands were designed as an alternative to the traditional frontal approach, and the idea was to make the hall as panoramic and open as possible, with smooth circulation,” Boiffils says. “Travel in the 21st century is filled with stressful moments — from check-in, to security lines, and immigration — and we wanted to provide extensive transparency to enable views of the steps ahead as a way of reducing anxiety derived from the unknown and unfamiliarity with the airport.”

He added that the design established what he felt has become a new “benchmark for this type of ecological design.”

Another aspect to pay attention to is the complex parametrically designed ceiling structure of the Departure Hall that features an intricate concealing baffle design composed of double-curved concentric aluminum blades. 

A further special feature in the Departure Hall is a 45.9-foot-high visual focal point: the digital waterfall display known as “The Wonderfall,” which is set to the music of Jean-Michel Blais and turns to change direction several times an hour.

The award-winning expansion stands as a 120,000-square-meter (1.29-million-square-foot) design and was completed between May 2018 and November 2023. 

“The entire project is a dialogue between technology and nature, but with the technology largely concealed to highlight the natural elements,” Boiffils said in closing. “The technology provides comfort and efficiency, but the human focus is what defines the user experience.”

The project has been rated Platinium for The Green Mark Certification Scheme by Singapore's Building and Construction Authority.