AXIA Design

APEX Air FBO Building
Nantong, China
2016-2017

Nantong, China

Project start: 2016

Status: Schematic Design

Gross floor area: 6120m²

Client: Apexair 

Architect: AXIA Design Associates

Project team: Chris Wong, Taymoore Balbaa, Michael Good, Ibrahim Brad Miles, Dadin Duldul

Visualization: Shelton Foo

The aviation industry is a growing sector in the city of Nantong, situated just 120 kilometres from Shanghai. With a new international airport slated for construction as part of Shanghai’s global aviation hub, Nantong is poised to play a fundamental role in the management of flight traffic in the region. To capitalize upon a current and future demand for business air travel, Apexair is planning to develop its campus to accommodate expanded business jet services. The first project in this ambitious, multi-phased endeavour is a private jet passenger terminal, which AXIA designed for the client. Under the Transportation category, this project won first place in the ACD Annual Awards.
Taking inspiration from the wings of an airplane, this aerodynamic terminal uses notions of flight to choreograph the passenger’s experience from the point of arrival to waiting in a luxurious lounge to boarding a private jet. As the passenger walks through the building, dramatic yet elegant metal screen walls undulate into biomorphic shapes intended to reference ideas of flight and movement, while revealing a sense of calmness in the eye of a storm. Using advanced digital modelling tools from design to fabrication, these distinctive curved screens serve as a visual guiding element throughout the building. From the covered vehicular drop-off to the curvilinear form of the lobby to the backdrop of the passenger hall, one is transported into a series of circulatory shapes that mirror the anticipation and relaxed excitement of modern air travel.

Ground Floor
1. Drop-off 2. Lobby 3. Admin Lobby 4. Patron Rest Area 5. Kitchen 6. VIP Rooms 7. Staff Entrance 8. Loading 9. Children’s Play Area 10. Staff Room 11. Patron Washrooms 12. Security Checkpoint 13. Secure Corridor 14. Hanger 15. Garden

Second Floor
16. Meeting rooms 17. Patron Lounge 18. Cigar Room 19. Patron Washrooms 20. AOC Lobby 21. Flight Operation Centre 22. Crew Rest Area 23. Sleep Rooms 24. Shower Rooms 25. Building Services 26. Conference Room

In the bar and lounge area, these curving screens assume a darker tone and more restrained form, fashioned out of wood to suggest greater warmth and intimacy. A similar atmosphere is achieved in the sound-proofed private meeting rooms, with ensuite shower facilities, which enable passengers to make use of stopover periods when their jets need to refuel. Future phases of this project include various aviation support facilities, such as staff residences, a cafeteria and recreation centre for the hundreds of employees who service and maintain these private aircrafts.