Airlines switch to T4 Nine airlines will operate at T4 – the Air Asia Group (of four airlines), Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, Korean Air, Spring Airlines and Vietnam Airlines. Together, they serve an estimated eight million passengers at Changi Airport each year. Two lounges – Cathay Pacific’s First and Business Class Lounge, and Blossom Lounge, a pay-per-use lounge managed by SATS and Plaza Premium, are located at level 2M within the transit area. Following T4’s opening, the total handling capacity of Changi Airport will be raised to 82 million passengers per year. |
SINGAPORE. Changi Airport today unveiled its spectacular new Terminal 4 (T4), set to open late this year during a media tour of the facility. The Moodie Davitt Report was the sole travel retail media present.
The terminal embraces extensive technology to enhance efficiency and the consumer experience. T4 is also notable for its eclectic arts and cultural emphasis and a diverse shopping and dining offer featuring over 80 retail and F&B outlets.
The T4 shopping experience is enhanced by airside stores with 11-metre high double-volume façades and impactful storefront designs. This zone will offer a selection of popular international and local retail brands, featuring creative interior designs and a premium shopping experience, CAG said (see sidebar below).
CAG Vice President, T4 Programme Management Office Ms Poh Li San said: “T4 was conceived with the vision to rethink travel, push boundaries and break new ground. Through innovative concepts of operation and terminal design, we sought to address our capacity needs as well as improve efficiency and manpower productivity.
“For the passenger, we wanted to delight them with wow features and showcase our local culture and architectural history at the Heritage Zone.”
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CAG said that T4 “presents a new travel experience” with its boutique design and innovative use of technology.” The terminal will become the first at Changi to offer end-to-end Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) for departing passengers.
FAST technology, which includes facial recognition software, allows passengers to enjoy the flexibility of self check-in without having to wait for counters to open. FAST will also yield productivity gains with manpower savings of about 20% expected in the longer term, when operations have stabilised.
T4 has a total floor area of 225,000sq m across the two-storey terminal, car parks and taxi deck. The project was completed after three years of construction.
Although the new terminal is just half the size of T3, planners and designers of T4 have delivered a facility with a capacity of 16 million passengers a year, two-thirds that of T3.
A theatre of experience T4 offers a rich tapestry of culture and technology, designed to engage consumers through a theatre of different experiences, heritage-themed facades and immersive LED digital displays. The art collection is an eclectic mix of contemporary works by local and foreign artists, featuring a diverse blend of mediums, sizes and imagery. Each piece was conceptualised and designed with careful consideration as to how it would embellish the terminal’s design and architecture, weaving in a narrative that converges art and travel. “T4 will be a shopping and dining haven,” CAG pledged. with more than 80 retail and F&B outlets featuring popular brands and unique experiential zones. In a first for Changi, an integrated duty free zone featuring DFS’s liquor & tobacco offer and The Shilla Duty Free’s perfumes & cosmetics range allows shoppers to pay for their purchases at common cashier counters (also see YouTube film ‘From duty free to a theatre of experience’ at foot of page). The Heritage Zone, designed with the evolving architecture of shophouse facades, provides passengers a glimpse of Singapore’s cultural heritage, while housing a range of traditional retail and dining offerings. Renovation and fitting-out works of stores and restaurants are well in progress to prepare for operations when T4 opens, CAG said. |
A unique and boutique design
T4’s design theme is “fun, vibrant and positively surprising”. The Changi hallmark of a feeling of space is enhanced here by high ceilings coupled with height limits for equipment and machines. The terminal’s showpiece is a Central Galleria (300m long x 18m wide x 23m high) which separates the public (landside) zone from the transit area. This visual transparent concept provides a clear view from the check-in hall through the transit area and, at some locations, right up to the boarding gates.
Unlike the other terminals, T4 benefits from centralised security and departure and arrival immigration. In the Departure Hall, the check-in islands are angled towards the common immigration control area, to create natural and intuitive wayfinding for passengers.
T4’s interior design is based on a symmetrical petal design, inspired by the orchid petal. This contemporary motif appears ubiquitously in various locations within T4, such as on the skylights, marble flooring and carpets to create a coherent design language intended to create a boutique feel.
An abundance of skylights and glass walls allows a lot of natural light in, which not only provides a naturally ambient daytime experience for passengers but also simulates a natural environment of plants and trees. The T4 landscaping covers 2,000sq m and is home to 186 large trees. Along the boarding corridor, 160 ficus (Weeping Fig) trees form a natural boulevard separating the boarding area from the common area at the departure gates.
“Grand-scale kinetic sculpture, contemporary art and immersive digital experience”
T4 offers a “visually immersive and theatrical experience” featuring a range of curated art and entertainment features by local and international artists.
The collection encapsulates T4’s “vibrant, fun and positively surprising” theme. Passengers will encounter an array of traditional art forms, such as sculptures, as well as kinetic and multi-media installations.
Art that moves
At the heart of T4 is a grand-scale kinetic sculpture, Petalclouds, spanning 200m of the Central Galleria, which separates the public and transit areas. Petalclouds, visible from almost everywhere in the terminal, moves gracefully to classical music specially composed by BAFTA award-winning composer, Ólafur Arnalds (see video below).
This kinetic sculpture combines art and technology to create a harmonic, collective choreography of six identical ‘petal clouds’, resulting in a continuous interplay of form, animated light and reflections. The sculpture depicts clouds moving slowly through the horizon. The design of its basic element – a symmetrical petal shape inspired by orchid petals – is found throughout the architecture and interior design of the terminal.
For the first time at Changi Airport, T4 presents an opportunity to permanently showcase Singapore’s local culture and flavour to international passengers. The Heritage Zone in the transit area gives a glimpse into the evolution of shophouse architecture from the 1880s to the 1950s, including the rich and colourful Peranakan heritage often seen in the likes of the Katong and Chinatown areas.
Passengers can also enjoy a special performance displayed on the Peranakan façade. A 10m x 6m LED screen transforms two shophouse bays into a digital theatre stage, to present a six-minute cultural mini-theatre show, Peranakan Love Story. The non-conversational musical is about an unlikely romance between two passionate musician neighbours living next to each other, set in 1930s Singapore.
The show, a collaboration with renowned Singaporean composer and artiste Dick Lee, also features other local talents including Adrian Pang, Koh Chieng Mun, Amy Cheng and Benjamin Kheng.
Besides sights and sounds, the Heritage Zone completes the multi-sensory experience of local culture through taste and smell with the integration of retail and F&B outlets housing local brands Bee Cheng Hiang, Bengawan Solo, Curry Times, Eu Yan Sang and Heavenly Wang.
Stress-free immersive experience
In addition to Peranakan Love Story, passengers will also enjoy an immersive experience at arguably the least expected location – the centralised security screening area just past immigration. The 70m x 5m Immersive Wall showcases compelling imagery on Singapore’s skyline, ASEAN landmarks, as well as a whimsical animated clip on suitcases being screened before flight [see video]. Some 50 minutes of high-definition content have been produced.
Local and international art sculptures
T4 is home to three physical art sculptures, all depicting a common theme of travel or aviation. Local sculptor and Cultural Medallion winner, Chong Fah Cheong, created Hey Ah Chek!, installed at the Departure Check-in Hall, depicting a mother and her son hailing a trishaw ride after a typical visit to the market. Hands full with their baskets of fresh produce; it evokes the nostalgia of the way of life in the 1950s.
Inspired by a transit experience in New York and later at Changi Airport, Kurt Metzler (Switzerland) captured the feelings of excitement and energy he felt with his family through Changi Airport in his sculpture Travelling Family. Located in the Departure Transit area, the set of sculptures is reminiscent of a scenario in an airport – a mixture of passengers and their children, all ready to embark on their next adventure.
Les Oiseaux (The Birds) by French artist Cedric Le Borgne is a collection of three bird sculptures, each with a different attitude, which greet passengers in the Arrival and Departure Halls. Le Borgne’s larger than life birds are 3D-wire luminous characters that metaphorically represent the different emotions one would feel at an airport, CAG said.
Poh Li San said: “With T4, we have sought to create an enjoyable and memorable travel experience for our passengers, from the facilities and services, to the environment and the visual elements within – especially in locations with higher footfall and longer dwell times.
“The collection of art and entertainment formats in T4 was commissioned to be accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds, and it is a diverse blend of mediums, sizes and imagery that etches an inspiring first and last impression of their journey through T4.
“Each piece was conceptualised and designed with careful consideration as to how it would enhance the terminal’s design and architecture, weaving in a narrative that converges art and travel. We hope our passengers will enjoy the collection as much as we did putting it together.”
