Boa Vista feng shui case study
Boa Vista is a small island off west Africa and part of the Cape Verde islands. The brief was to create an airport that would be appealing to passengers tavelling from Europe for holidays on the island.
We particularly wanted to use feng shui in the design so that arrival at the terminal for incoming passengers to be the start of a memorable and wonderful holiday. With this in mind we specifically designed the terminal to be unique, uplifting, light, sunny, spacious and colourful along with a natural feel. We also aimed to create a terminal with a very low carbon footprint and minimal running costs.
To give the feng shui terminal a unique identity it is modeled on an ancient citadel. Boa Vista typical only experiences two days rain a year so to create a sunny, open, bright, colourful atmosphere we decided not to have a roof and use sails to provide shade and protection from the occasional rain. This eleminated the need for air conditioning and greatly reduced the cost of the terminal. The sails created interesting shadows on the ground that move throughout the day. This help the building live up to its feng shui aim and feel alive and in harmony with the cycles of nature.
The natural materials were particularly effective in the baggage claim area, where many airports have a semi industrial, cold hard atmosphere.
The predominent materials used are local stone, wood and glass. These combine to give the terminal a relaxing natural feel. A lot of effort was put into designing the layout of the terminal so that it had a natural passenger flow. We wanted passengers to see their way through the terminal rather than relying on signs.
Using feng shui in the design helped create an airport that is unique, distinct and easy to use. Recent research revelled high satisfaction with many customers claiming it was the more beautiful terminal they had experienced.