One of Europe’s largest airport projects

Building envelopes in airport environments are exposed to particularly high structural loads. To meet these demands, Hilzinger Metallbau developed a modified façade construction based on the Schüco AOC 60 ST system. The steel mullion-and-transom façades were dimensioned to withstand not only their own static loads, but also the fluctuating pressure and suction forces generated by aircraft operations.

Hilzinger also installed around 550 specialist aluminium and steel doors. The smoke-control and fire doors are integrated directly into the building management system. As part of the smoke and heat exhaust systems (SHEVS), they play a central role in preventive fire protection. In an emergency, the doors can be controlled selectively. This helps to protect the building fabric and supports the safe evacuation of passengers. At the same time, they were designed to withstand a high number of opening cycles, ensuring that they can cope with the intensive demands of daily airport operations over the long term.

One of the project’s greatest challenges was coordinating the movement of materials and personnel across the extensive construction site. From June 2021 to December 2025, every stage of the work had to be precisely coordinated. The situation was made more difficult by the limited storage capacity available across the site. To ensure a smooth construction process, Hilzinger’s logistics department established a fully integrated supply chain. Components manufactured at the company’s facilities in Fritzlar and Borken were delivered to their respective installation locations ready for assembly and in the correct sequence. The close integration of CAD design, manufacturing and construction-site logistics proved to be a key factor in delivering the project on schedule and within budget.

At Piers H and J, Hilzinger delivered the façades for a total of 24 passenger boarding bridges and 38 aircraft docking positions. As the direct link between the terminal and the aircraft, these structures are subject to particularly demanding requirements in terms of functionality, fire safety and structural performance. Based on the Schüco AOC 60 ST system, Hilzinger created a transparent mullion-and-transom façade. Its lightweight architectural appearance is combined with fire-compartment sections made from sandwich panels.

The new Passenger Transport System (PTS) serves as the central transport link between the airport’s terminals. Station F in the north creates a distinctive architectural feature with its striking elliptical tubular design. Its segmented aluminium sheet façade was precisely installed on the reinforced-concrete structural panels, emphasising the building’s dynamic design language. Hilzinger also delivered technically demanding façade solutions for the station buildings at Terminals 1 to 3, as well as for the PTS maintenance facility. At Terminal 2, this involved integrating steel portal frames into the existing structure, while Terminal 3 required a new infrastructure building with bridge façades linking it to both the terminal and the car park.

Every component had to withstand the specific conditions of airport operations over the long term. This called for extensive structural verification, including assessments of wind loads and fall-protection performance. The transparent sections of the passenger boarding bridges were fitted with structurally tested glazing assemblies designed to withstand high horizontal impact loads, even when passenger numbers were high. The façades and glazing installed at the PTS facilities were also specifically designed to withstand the extreme conditions created by daily operations. All fixings in the tunnels and stations had to withstand the constant changes in air pressure caused by passing trains. The structural design also incorporated special expansion-joint constructions to accommodate the thermal movement of the large reinforced-concrete viaducts without affecting the performance or structural integrity of the façade and glazing elements.

One of the project’s particular technical highlights was the installation of the façade on the almost 70-metre-high apron control tower. To provide air traffic controllers with optimum, glare-free visibility, glazing units up to 3.3 metres high were installed at an outward angle. This configuration reversed the direction of the loads and required specially developed anchoring technology. To install the glass units – some weighing up to 800 kilograms – Hilzinger used a mobile crane and a remotely controlled counterweight system fitted with a vacuum glass lifter. This enabled the units to be positioned with millimetre accuracy while taking the prevailing wind conditions into account.