Twelve different metal fabric applications at international airport

Muscat Airport

GKD architectural fabrics display their enormous range of applications and versatility of design in the expansion of Muscat International Airport with a new terminal. The fabrics are used as ceilings and baldachins/canopies, as wall cladding and room dividers, and in three different types of media façade:

as grid ceilings above the car rental area and at the transitions to the north and south pier; as canopies made from stainless steel fabric above the immigration counter; as curved roof elements made from custom fabric above the moving walkways in the three piers; as suspended ceilings above the six escalators from the arrivals to the departures level and on to the hotel; as transparent, large-format wall cladding/wall-hangings made from stainless steel mesh in the retail area; as transparent fabric panels in front of hotel windows between the floor and ceiling; as transparent media façades made from Mediamesh® and Illumesh® and as a mixed-media screen.

The GKD metal fabrics make a significant contribution to the subdued elegance of the passenger terminal and set new standards for modern airport design. For the curved roof elements above the moving walkways (3,210 m² in total), GKD developed a special Lamelle fabric with a similar feel to the Mandarin bronze fabric, but with the greater stability required by the application and without the patina formation that was requested elsewhere. Aluminum weft wires coated a bronze color in a continuous process and natural-finish stainless steel mesh combine fine optics, low weight, and strong robustness. A light strip running down the middle optically separates these fabric elements. Downlights were integrated into the Lamelle fabric of the suspended grid ceilings above the car rental area and light strips in the joints of the suspended ceilings at the pier transitions further contribute to the optical effect of the canopy. Another architectural fabric highlight is the spectacular ceiling mesh above the escalators. The large-scale use of GKD fabrics is crowned by three gigantic LED media façade systems: a 15 x 4.10 m seamless and semitransparent Mediamesh screen (Tigris stainless steel mesh with integrated LED profiles, 44,000 SMD pixels); an 8.50 x 15 m Illumesh display with rows of LEDs mounted horizontally in front of the fabric; a 14.3 x 27 m media façade which impressively combines the Mediamesh and Illumesh systems. Planning, development of the substructure, and installation were the responsibility of GKD for all three media façade screens.

In a nutshell: architectural fabric from GKD presents its broad functional variability at Muscat International Airport and is an elementary component of its futuristic airport architecture.