Airports are transient spaces. Just a decade ago, Indian airports were simple, stiff and straightforward spaces that were a mere conduit between the destination and the traveller. In a post-Covid world where people are travelling more than ever, Indian airports are transforming into portals of adventure and exploration. Suddenly they have morphed into these wondrous spaces that are gateways to the unknown, brimming with the promise of new experiences.

The Terminal 2 (T2) at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru is one such space that transcends the physical structure and serves as a symbol of a globalized world and reminds the people who pass through its expansive spaces to overcome limitations, to explore, and to connect with one another.

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) over a period of over four years, the T2 Bengaluru is spread over a mammoth 255,000 square meters (or 47 football fields) and is designed as a “terminal in a garden”. Peter Lefkovits of SOM says that the terminal pays homage to Bengaluru’s “garden city” heritage. He explains, “The idea was to radically reimagine travel experience by connecting passengers to nature along each step of their journey.” The new terminal offers a sequence of distinctive spaces, each integrated with a variety of landscape features to create a calming oasis within the bustle of an international airport.

A Functional Space

In front of T2, a 123,000-square-metre multimodal transit hub serves as the nexus of public transportation for the entire airport. This T-shaped, two-level outdoor plaza space simplifies access to public transit and makes the terminal area entirely walkable. Once inside, the terminal building houses check-in, immigration, security, retail, arrivals, and baggage claim. Beyond security, separate retail and concession spaces are provided for international and domestic passengers. Each area is replete with amenities and verdant planting, in addition to a full array of shops and dining options. The architecture complements a series of landscape experiences that weave nature into the travellers' journeys.

An Oasis Of Green

The terminal pays an ode to the vibrant and varied landscape of Karnataka in its ethos, materials and details. Lefkovits elaborates, “Throughout the complex interior plantings, exterior gardens, and rich natural materials connect passengers to nature and to local culture.” Local influences are spotlighted in ways both, subtle and stately. All the furnishings are custom-made and clad in traditionally woven rattan while locally sourced ivory brown granite is used extensively. In the retail portion of the terminal, a soliloquy of indoor waterfalls matches the magnificent aesthetics of the boulders and waterways of Karnataka.


The finishes of Terminal 2 make use of locally sourced materials, rarely found in airports, including ivory brown granite, umber red bricks, and traditionally woven rattan. The ceiling, made of layers of cross-laid engineered bamboo, filters light much like a garden pavilion. “This was our first time using engineered bamboo.” Lefkovits notes, “As a highly renewable and sustainable material, bamboo’s structural integrity reduced the amount of secondary support required, while also complementing the beauty of the garden concept.” Together, the combination of natural materials, landscaping, and layering of bamboo creates a colour palette reminiscent of a garden.

The landscape seamlessly merges the indoors and outdoors with an astute infusion of greens at specific moments of passenger processing at each step of the travel journey. Hanging gardens at check-in areas, terraced gardens in the main retail space for a picnic before boarding a flight and Mediterranean plants featured at the “Orientation Garden” – found between security and retail – deck the terminal in dazzling shades of green.

One of the signature spaces is the forest-belt a 90-metre-wide swath of lushly planted landscape. To reach the gates, passengers cross covered, open-air bridges, which provide an immersive, sensory experience connected to nature.

Art As An Adjunct

SOM created a design that honours the traditions of the region while introducing an innovative, modern airport experience. The showstopper is the rich art on display, which was developed by Bengaluru International Airport Ltd, the operator of Kempegowda International Airport. The artworks are at strategic locations and serve as beacons in a traveller's journey, allowing passengers to pause, reflect and enjoy. 

The art programme at T2 is based on two themes – Karnataka’s rich heritage and culture, and Bharata Natyashastra's Naurasa or nine emotions. Sixty artworks capture these two themes. From Krishnaraj Chonat’s copper sculpture suspended at the boarding piers, Gaatha and MA Rauf’s Bidri art installation, and Anupama Hoskere’s wood puppets near the boarding gates, the artworks at T2 promise to make passengers’ journey through the terminal an unforgettable experience.

In its visual philosophy, statement art and textures as well as the emphasis on bringing nature indoors, Kempegowda International Airport T2 is a love letter to Bengaluru. In the process it becomes a fleeting home to those who pass by and what greater compliment can one pay to a public space in which every individual has a private nook?