The restyling of Milan Linate airport was presented today in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. After major redevelopment work that began in 2019 and was completed on schedule, Milan’s city airport now has a completely renewed look.
After the refurbishment of the facade in 2018, the architectural and ambience restyling project of the terminal began. The aim was to give Milan city airport a new identity that characterises its environments, atmosphere and materials, in order to improve the traveller experience and customer satisfaction for passengers.
For the operational areas, the project was inspired by the guidelines of neuroarchitecture, neuroscience applied to architecture, which aims to create spaces capable of arousing wellbeing while reducing stress and anxiety to a minimum.
The works at the Linate terminal concerned the architectural and functional redesign of the check-in area, security filters and duty free area. In addition, the terminal was enlarged with a new area developed on 3 levels including the new gates from 1 to 8, a new shopping gallery and a new food court.
The check-in area has been redesigned with a double-height ceiling and plants on the first floor, giving it a “green” touch. The existing false ceilings have been replaced with wood-effect baffle strips alternating with plasterboard sails to enhance the perception of the surrounding space. An integrated lighting system also emphasises the curved lines of the sails and LED profiles alternating with the slats.
The check-in desks have been rethought as identifying elements of the Sea brand, with a design with soft edges, covered in brass. Ad hoc lighting above the desks has also been provided with an overhead band in line with the design of the desks.
The security filter area, due to open in October 2020, has also been redesigned. The architectural elements, colours and materials used for the walls, floors and ceilings have been chosen to reduce as much as possible the stress that controls cause to passengers. The security area has also been equipped with the latest technology to simplify and speed up security checks.
New Eds-Cb (Explosives Detection Systems for Cabin Baggage) machines using Tac technology have been installed. The high efficiency of the system allows checks to be carried out without the need to separate electronic equipment and liquids from hand luggage, further improving the travel experience.
The innovation of Linate’s security system starts at check-in: with the Face Boarding system, passengers can associate their biometric face print with their ID and boarding pass and until they board the aircraft they no longer need to show any ID, thus speeding up transit through the various checkpoints.
The real novelty of this restyling is the new terminal area. The old single-storey part of the terminal has been demolished to create a new three-storey building with a total area of 10,000 sqm (approx. 3000 sqm per floor). The extension of the boarding halls, the new shopping arcade with the new food court in a double height space topped by a ‘sail’, will allow a new and more comfortable passenger flow.
In order to create a sense of place in tune with Milan, which has always been a vanguard and testimonial of Italian design in the world, a collaboration has been established with Triennale Milano and its Italian Design Museum, which has made available a series of works by famous Italian designers from the Triennale collection. The works will be displayed along the passenger flow, to enrich their cultural value and give an identity to the airport terminal, historically considered a ‘non-place’. Every six months Triennale will exhibit a new selection of works. This special project – curated by Marco Sammicheli, superintendent of Triennale Milano’s Italian Design Museum – aims to bring the museum closer to new audiences and testify to the value of material culture.
The new terminal area has obtained Breeam-in use excellent certification, the environmental certification of buildings constructed according to the principles of sustainability. The criteria for which the new structure has obtained this recognition are: energy saving, health and well-being of users, attention to the use of resources (water, construction materials, land consumption), waste management and environmental pollution.
The total investment, including technological innovation (Face Boarding, Smart Security and Self Bag Drop), amounts to 40 million euros.
