Terminal 3 at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport Opens

On November 28, after a speedy three-year design and construction process, Terminal 3 at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in Guangdong, China, started operations. The 500,000 square-meter (5.3 million square foot) design by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas (their first airport) expands the airport's capacity by nearly 60%, so it can handle 45 million passengers a year. By comparison Beijing Capital International Airport handles approximately 80 million passengers a year, London Heathrow around 70 million, and Frankfurt Airport close to 60 million.

The terminal's 63 gates are covered by the design's signature element: a 1.5-kilometer-long (1 mile) white roof punctuated by honeycomb openings that allow sunlight to filter into the expansive spaces. Per the architects, other interior features include "stylized white ‘trees’ that serve as air conditioning vents, and check-in ‘islands’, gates and passport-check areas with a stainless steel finish that beautifully reflect the honeycomb patterns from above. The honeycomb motif translates through into many aspects of the interior and at different scales – from the larger retail boxes to smaller 3D imprints in the wall cover."