Air Traffic Control Centre

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Photo © Matevz Lenarcic
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © David Lotric
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © David Lotric
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
Photo © MIRAN KAMBIC
arkkitehdit
Sadar+Vuga
Location
Jože Pučnik Airport, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Year
2013

Type
infrastructure

Source
public tender, selected project

Client
Slovenian Air Navigation Services, Ltd.

Site area
7.996 m2

Building area
2.400 m2

Total floor area
8.320 m2

Storeys
basement + ground floor + 2

Program
air traffic control centre, offices, restaurant, library, congress hall, fitness

Structure
reinforced concrete

Cladding
glass, alu-panels, alu-glazing

The Air Traffic Control Centre is a highly demanding and complex object due to the nature of the institution it hosts. It is designed to enable safety and high operational activity as well as consistent comfort for visitors and staff 24 hours a day all year around.

The building is located in the middle of the plot mainly for the safety reasons. At the northern part it is separated from the edge by a parking platform and at the southern side by the high vegetation of the garden. The building consists of three parts: the central control space and two wings of offices and public spaces. Within, the object is organized by five different levels of security zones with access control at each passage. The further one moves from the rim that holds administrative and rest areas towards the centre of the object, the greater the security level of the areas.

The compact design also serves to enhance the operational efficiency of the object. The paths are short and manageable. The clear division into a pentagonal head and two wings provides easy orientation within. The head and the wings are connected by a central area, the vertical hall. It is a multi-levelled area with an entrance lobby, canteen, conference room and gym. At the ground level in the wings there is a large conference room and two study rooms, while above them on two levels are the Centre's administrative areas. With correct orientation of the interior, suitable overheating protection and installation systems design for the use of renewable energy sources (geothermal energy), the compactness of the object also allows for a good energy performance certificate.

The whole building is wrapped in belts of glazing and combined aluminium parapets and brise-soleil that regulate the intensity of heat and light transmission to the interior. The windows are made of bronze reflective glass mirroring the mountains in the surrounding. The roof is designed with a flat roof system that rises in terraces, thus continuing the play of blinds and parapets on the facade. With its shape, the roof provides daylight to the interior areas, especially to the control room in the pentagonal 'head' of the object.

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