Expansion of Santa’s very own airport in Rovaniemi to be completed for the winter season
The expansion ofthe Rovaniemi Airport terminal facilities is part of Finavia’s programme focused on developing airports in Lapland. The number of air passengers in the airports of Lapland is estimated to increase from 1.3 million to 2 million over the coming decade. Sweco is responsible for the structural and electrical design of the Rovaniemi air terminal.
The planning of the Rovaniemi terminal expansion began in February 2018, and currently some of the premises are already in use. During the autumn, Sweco’s structural designers will concentrate on the modifications of the current premises, which will involve tearing down concrete walls, for example. The airport, including its many security areas, will continue to operate normally for the entire duration of the work, which is why it has been important to stagger the work appropriately.
“The designers have listened to our wishes, and we have stayed on schedule through excellent collaboration,” states Airport Manager Johan Juujärvi of Finavia and Rovaniemi Airport with satisfaction.
The new terminal facilities improve travel comfort
The aim of the expansion, costing some 25 million euros, is to improve passenger comfort at the airport. Rovaniemi is annually visited by a half a million tourists, and as the third busiest airport in Finland it has increased passenger volumes by as much as 19% a year.
“We have a steady stream of tourists for the entire winter season from November to the end of March, and even during the summer, there are 4–5 flights a day between Rovaniemi and Helsinki,” Juujärvi explains. The new premises are set to be completed early in the winter of 2019, since December is naturally a peak season like no other at Santa’s own airport. As an example, 154,000 passengers travelled through the airport last December.
“The terminal premises must be spacious to ensure comfortable travel even during the busiest seasons,” Juujärvi says. In addition to this, Finavia wantts to ensure that the northern region remains accessible and airlines can operate smoothly despite any possible congestion. The floor area of the terminal will increase from 6,000 square metres to around 10,500 square metres, which will also facilitate flight organisation. The renovations will facillitate an hourly landing rate of five planes instead of three.
The expansion will also positively influence trade and industry in the area. “Travel and tourism related services provide the most jobs in Rovaniemi, which means that the terminal expansion will also serve to strengthen investment resolve among local entrepreneurs,” Juujärvi says.
The hybrid building combines steel, concrete and wood
Sweco Rovaniemi will handle the main structural design of the expansion. In addition to this, the machine shop that handled the steel frame delivery ordered the steel engineering from Sweco Helsinki. The most important criterion for the steel structure design was to ensure that the new section would fit in well with the old terminal building constructed in 1992 and expanded in 2000.
“Finavia favours sustainable construction, and all of the load-bearing and stiffening structures are steel and concrete elements with a life span of 100 years,” explains Sweco’s Department Manager Jarkko Hakola. “Wooden elements have been used in the exterior walls and the roof envelope structures.”
All of the structural elements are highly prefabricated, which has been essential due to the construction schedule. The structural strength and stability are high – Class CC3 – and special attention has been paid to the management of progressive collapse, thermal movement and lateral displacement.
“The building has been stiffened at bottom floor level by means of precast concrete partition walls and steel bindings,” Hakola says. The intermediate floor is formed by hollow slabs and WQ beams, while double-layer steel pillars serve as laterally-shifting girders above the intermediate floor. The planar stiffening of the roof has been implemented by means of steel bindings. “In addition to this, we eliminated the earth pressure on one side of the rectangular building constructed on a slope by including a crawl space in a portion of the building.”
The ground floor of the new section contains a café and shop area as well as a luggage check-in lobby. The bottom floor features cold, semi-warm and warm spaces, such as the bus terminal, unloading of incoming luggage and various technical spaces. Only warm spaces are situated in the upper floors.
“The varying temperatures result in movement in the steel and concrete structures, which means that it is important to include a structural expansion joint in the design of the runway-side glass facade,” Hakola says.
Industrial-grade reliability for the electrical system
Sweco’s Oulu-based designers had a lot to fit together with the electrical technologies of the new and old sections of the airport terminal. The updates elevated power distribution to an entirely new level.
“There haven’t been that many structural hindrances, but we’ve been challenged by the main distribution board outputs and difficult routings through the existing premises,” says Tuomo Asikainen, project manager for electrical design. Old technical solutions have been dismantled to make way for large new luggage conveyors, for example. In addition to this, the airport has invested in the reliability of the power supply.
“Originally, the terminal was intended to feature a 12-square-metre transformer substation, but it was eventually replaced with a 200-square-metre substation building,” Asikainen says in reference to the various design phases. In terms of size and reliability, the substation is equivalent to those used in heavy industry.
“The new substation will facilitate the construction of a power distribution network in a ring arrangement, meaning that electricity can be supplied selectively from multiple directions,” Asikainen says. Power distribution has also been ensured by means of backup power and UPS power. “The landing strips and terminal building will remain operational and lit regardless of whether or not power from the national grid is available.”