Fascinating sketches reveal thinking behind architect's new tea plantation-inspired Mount Fuji airport design

Like your local high street you can't get through any airport without running an intricate course of coffee shops eagre to caffeineate you on your way to wherever you're going. (Which is fine by Phaidon). 

However, a new design by Shigeru Ban (check out the book with him here) is inspired by the shape of tea plantations that can be found around Mount Fuji, the site of Ban's proposed Mount Fuji Shizuoka Airport. 

The existing tea plantation and Ban's design referencing it

The Japanese architect's winning design for the airport terminal features a novel, green barrel, roof design that mirrors the existing flora of the site as it stands today. The interior of the airport is classic Shigeru Ban with a twisted, laminated wooden vaulted latticework design that references aviation themes while creating an intimate, tactile space.

Airport consultants BANJAC are working alongside Ban whose design comprises a two-storey volume with leafy indoor foliage affording lots of natural diffused light for those drinking tea, and perhaps the odd cup of coffee, below.....Continue Reading

> via Phaidon