Rafael Vinoly Architects has designed the new Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay.
This is the firm's first completed airport and its largest project in Vinoly's home country.
The new terminal will become fully operational on December 9, 2009.
The new terminal, which serves Uruguay's capital city of Montevideo, was created to expand capacity and spur commercial growth and tourism in the surrounding region.
The design of the building emphasizes its public zones and amenities, providing these areas with an abundance of open space and natural light.
Arriving travelers, for example, pass through a fully glazed mezzanine level that helps orient them to the terminal space before they descend to immigration, the baggage claim, and customs.
A public, landscaped terrace and a restaurant occupy the second floor, providing sweeping views of the runway and the main concourse.
Rafael Vinoly Architects' design elevates the public zones, both on the fully accessible roadside departure hall and terrace and the secure runway-side concourses, and houses everything beneath a curved, 1,200-foot-long roof.
The gentle curve and low profile of this monolithic roof help integrate the building into its site.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Australian Institute of Architects, Architecture Canada and the Commonwealth Association of Architects joined forces to deliver a 15 point "Call for Action" at next month's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen (COP15, 7-18 December 2009) in an effort to lobby world leaders to deliver an ambitious and effective international response to climate change.
The joint statement highlights the importance of the crucial roles architecture and the built environment can play in reducing the climate change impact on the environment; with buildings and cities currently accounting for almost half of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
It challenges Governments, and the global architectural profession, to work together towards achieving significant and lasting action to combat climate change.
The joint Call for Action paper covers issues ranging from the pressing need for an international standard of accounting for carbon emissions, to appropriate planning for the unavoidable impacts of climate change, and incentives to drive innovation to ensure greater and faster take-up of sustainable design.
"Our Call for Action statement is designed to encourage governments, architects and the broader global community to act," said Ruth Reed, RIBA President.
"I am delighted to join forces with architecture institutes around the world to tackle this vital issue."
