Glassense - Oslo Airport expansion
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Oslo Airport expansion

Oslo Airport is located at Gardermoen, and it is Norway’s main international airport.

The Airport was opened in 1998 and was built to handle a traffic of 17 million passengers a year. In 2014, just under 24 million traveled to and from the airport. The new Oslo Airport was officially opened in April 2017. It is now the second biggest in Scandinavia after Copenhagen, with a capacity of 32 million passengers each year.

The project included the expansion of the existing terminal and the addition of a new train station, which is located at the center of the airport. The expansion project doubled the size of the existing terminal from 148,000 m² to 265,000 m².

Oslo Airport

The new pier is 300 meters long and covers an area of 63,000 m². The structure branches out perpendicular to the existing terminal. It features a curved roof clad in a combination of reflective panels and timber sourced from Scandinavian forests.

Glass is the single element with the highest energy leakage in a building. To achieve low level of energy use, the used glass needed to be with exceptional energy isolation abilities.

A large window at the northern end of the pier and long expanses of glazing along the sides provide views of the runway, while the 300 meters long skylight brings in natural light to the gates. The structure is glue-laminated timber, also known as glulam, which is manufactured by layering up multiple slices of wood and gluing them together. Three glazed field runs along the full length of the pier.

Oslo Airport

The beautiful 3200 m² ceiling of the pier is made from 42 000 cassettes. The cassettes vary in size and perforation to create a dynamic expression which along the skylights increase in transparency to let the natural light through.


The upper, double curved facade starts as a roof to then transform into a curved facade gradually. The lower, negatively inclined facade is supported by glass fins. To solve the sunscreen for the curved glass facade the glass is screen-printed to achieve a desired level of G-value.

Energy saving at Oslo Airport

Oslo’s Airport have international environmental certification BREEAM with the rating Excellent for its innovative energy-saving solutions for heating and cooling. It is the only airport in the world that has been awarded this level of environmental certification.

All the materials, including recycled steel and concrete mixed with volcanic ash, were chosen to be Environmentally friendly choiches were made for . The architects claim this is one of the most energy-efficient airports in the world.

Here you can read more about the airport’s environmentally friendly choices: https://avinor.no/konsern/flyplass/oslo/utbygging/hva-er-nytt/miljovennlige-valg

Oslo Airport
Illustration: Avinor/Nordic Office of Architecture