Beijing’s Capital International Airport is the second busiest airport in the world. Naturally, when they undertook construction of the third and most recent terminal in 2004, investors poured in large sums of money for the project that ended up costing $2.8 billion. A team that consisted of UK architecture firm Foster and Partners, the Netherlands Airport Consultants, and engineering firm ARUP designed the newest terminal. Opened in 2008, it is the largest terminal in the world to be completed in a single phase and is second in size only to one of Dubai International Airport’s terminals. The high-profile project, which was commissioned by the Chinese government in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was considered to be great publicity. That’s why it came as a big surprise to many when the roof of the terminal took flight last November during a bout of particularly high winds.
Beijing's Capital International Airport
On November 24, 2011, winds moving at speeds of 53 miles per hour tore metal plates off the roof of the terminal, delaying 200 flights and cancelling 28. It was the second time in under a year the roof had been damaged – in December 2010, similar winds damaged two sections of the roof and delayed another 200 flights. Although the roof was tested to withstand significantly higher speeds before opening, no one seems willing to take the blame for the mishaps.
Just after the wind storm
Shao Weiping of the Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute, one of the firms involved in the construction, blames poor materials rather than admitting design flaws. He told reporters, “If the products provided by the suppliers were not up to their highest standards, or if the individual items were not installed properly, then this kind of thing could happen,” and asserted he was “very confident that the design was perfect and involved no mistakes or flaws.” At the same time, airport authorities looked the other way, explaining that they were just using the building, they were not responsible for designing it.
High winds at Capital International Airport
Some see the issue with the roof as indicative of a larger problem in contemporary Chinese construction. An enormous building boom costing trillions annually has been responsible for a wide array of new infrastructure and construction including high-speed trains, superhighways, and airport terminals. However, the breakneck speed at which projects are being completed often leaves room for design flaws and has resulted in a number of accidents. The speed of construction has jeopardized citizen and tourist safety a number of times. For example, in 2009 a construction related fire at CCTV, a Chinese television network’s headquarters, killed a firefighter, and in 2011 two bullet trains collided, killing 40 people and injuring 177.
Entry to the subway line that connects to Terminal 3
Capital International Airport has been running smoothly for the last few months. However, the series of structural problems are prime examples of what can go wrong when quality of construction I sacrificed for speed of project completion. Although new construction may look polished and impressive, the real value of a building can only be proved over time.
