DEHRADUN AIRPORT: CULTURAL ELEGANCE

Dehradun airport terminal was designed by Dorsch Consult India. Dorsch was engaged for design, tendering, supervision and defects liability services by Airports Authority of India.

“Dorsch Consult, wanted to design Dehradun airport terminal building, different and with departure from typical steel and glass building. We wanted to make use of this opportunity and bring local heritage in terminal building design and do something different and unique. Uttarakhand is the abode of the Gods, where skies bow down in front of the Himalayas. The Devbhoomi inspired us to bring local heritage in terminal building design. Our team including expatriate architects spentsome time in Dehradun. We found this city is great and inspiring,” company's CEO said.

Feature Column

This feature column is based on Flower of Uttarakhand i.e. Bramhakamal. If you take a cross section of the feature column, it reflects this beautiful flower. (Picture of Feature Column) Since it brings natural light inside, it makes one pleasant and it becomes environment friendly since the natural sunlight reduces energy required for lighting.

The state of Uttarakhand is blessed with a wide variety of flora and fauna. The 'Valley of Flowers', a UNESCO world heritage site, displays a riot of colours with the blooming flowers.

The columns opening to the skylights are inspired by the “Bramhakamal” which is a state flower of Uttarakhand, blossoms during mid-monsoon in this valley. These rare flowers blooms only once in ayear. The flower features a stout stem and opens up into a white, star-like flower head. These flowers provided an inspiration to develop the feature column in its abstract form.

The Column blossom and open onto the natural sunlight that is brought in through the skylights. Also, the light is diffused through the elliptical shaped cut-outs with white acrylic sheet so that onegets ample natural light. It is one of the sustainable solution to minimize the dependence on artificiallighting during day time.

Material: GFRC cladding with acrylic sheet panels in cut-outs

Size of Column: Radius at bottom- 1.6 meters & Radius at top- 4.8 meters

Height of Column: 14.5 meters

Art Work

Art work is 83-meter-long and at 14 meters height from floor, just before check-in counters.

Material: Intricately carved painted AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) Blocks

Local Deities Nanda & amp; Sunanda Devi a mountain in the sacred Himalaya is a manifestation of the Goddess Parvati. Regional Festivals with women wearing traditional Rangwali Pichora, attires worn by the bride during the Kumaoni Wedding Ceremony. The Illustration highlights Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamnotri the four prominent holy Shrines 'CHARDHAM' dedicated to Hindu

Gods and Hemkund Sahib one of most revered Sikh Shrines in Uttarakhand. The Mural wall transcends to Har Ki Pauri, a famous Ghat on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar, it also showsstory of Ganga Avataran. Yog capital Rishikesh “City of Saints” along with Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.

Legend has it that the sage Rishi Raibhya sat on the banks of the Ganges and performed severe penance in the form of austerity and extreme yoga practices in Rishikesh.

Regional UNESCO Intangible festival - Raman Dance. Raman is one of the religious and ritual festivals in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand at the twin villages of Saloor-Dungra in the Chamoli district.The Auspicious Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra, organised once in 12 years involves 280 kms of Trekking. Himalayan wildlife and Adventure.

Prayer Wheels

Prayer wheels, which you see at the entrance, are inspired by monarchy at Dehradun. ॐमणिपद्मेहूँ,is scripted on it in Sanskrit/ Devanagari and Bhutanese language. The mantra is seen as the condensed form of all Buddhist teachings. The first word Om is a sacred syllable in various Indianreligions. The word Mani means 'jewel' or 'bead' Padme is the 'lotus flower'(the Eastern sacred flower), and Hum represents the spirit of enlightenment. Visitors throng this place to get anexperience of the serene and peaceful ambience of this Buddhist temple. It is believed that the Prayer Wheel at Mindrolling is a spiritual device for widely distributing blessings and positive wishesfor all beings which is equivalent to the recitation of a mantra (sacred syllable or verse).

An effort was made to capture and incorporate the essence of this landmark in the form of the 'Prayer Wheel' columns. The columns supporting the large cantilevered glass canopy are inspired from the 'Prayer Wheel' of Buddhist Monastery.

Material: GFRC panel cladding

Size of Column: Radius of column- 1.8 meters

Height of Column: 4.5 meters (GFRC Cladding)

Terminal Building Design

Pillow shape design of the terminal building offers optimum height, thus allowing sustainability measures including making it energy efficient. Innovative structural designs using steel and concretewas adopted and was vetted by IIT Bombay.

At the same time, all modern features and facilities are provided. So, it is a judicious mix of local heritage and global airport design practices. To translate Designs into Construction Tender keeping AAI's practices was a challenge. Nobody realizes this challenge since it is hidden work. We were encouraged by AAI officials all the time. The then Executive Director Kaushik Bhattacharjee wasvery receptive of our ideas and concept. Chairman Mohapatra appreciated designs and was quick to approve our concepts. We are privileged to get guidance and directions of Chairman Sanjeev Kumar and Member AK Pathak.

Hits: 74