Boarding Area A1 – A10

Design: 2023-2024 - ongoing

The refurbishment intervention of Boarding Area A1–A10 at Leonardo da Vinci Airport forms part of the broader program for the completion and upgrading of Fiumicino South, aimed at increasing the capacity of the boarding system and adapting the airport infrastructure to medium- and long-term traffic forecasts. The project plays a strategic role, as it concerns one of the most significant and central areas of the terminal system, intended to serve Schengen and Non-Schengen traffic to and from the city of Rome.

The infrastructural configuration provides for an overall capacity of approximately 5–6 million passengers per year, distributed across 10 contact gates—4 suitable for wide-body aircraft and 6 dedicated to narrow-body aircraft—as well as an additional 6 new remote gates planned at elevation +2.00. The latter, in view of the pier’s hybrid usability, may also be used in walk-in/walk-out mode, ensuring high operational flexibility, optimization of passenger flows, and adaptability to different traffic configurations and fleet deployment.

ADR Ingegneria acted as the sole designer from the Technical and Economic Feasibility Project (PFTE) phase through to the detailed design phase, including safety coordination during design, managing activities of high technical and organizational complexity. The intervention involved the functional, architectural, structural, and MEP design of a highly complex infrastructure, characterized by stringent regulatory constraints, demanding performance requirements, and the need to guarantee full operational continuity of the airport throughout all construction phases. The central building, rectangular in plan, is developed over four above-ground levels and one basement level, for a total above-ground covered area of approximately 42,000 sqm. The central location, size, and characteristics of the original pier gave the intervention strategic value, requiring careful planning and management of operational phases in order to reconcile the complexity of the works at the heart of the terminal system with the absolute continuity of airport services.

The main objective of the project was to make the boarding area functionally flexible, that is, capable of adapting to the different operational configurations required for managing traffic from Schengen and Non-Schengen areas. The project included a complete rationalization of the functional layout across the building’s four levels, with a reorganization of operational areas, passenger-dedicated zones, and the commercial offering, in order to optimize flows, improve service levels, and enhance overall quality and passenger experience. Particular attention was given to the integration between interior and exterior spaces through the introduction of new openings in the roof, intermediate slabs, and along the building perimeter, aimed at maximizing natural light intake and visual permeability toward the airside context. 

The intervention was developed according to an approach oriented toward universal design and environmental sustainability, based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the building system and aimed at achieving LEED® Building Design and Construction – New Construction certification, with a Platinum-level target. These evaluations were integrated into the design process from the earliest stages, making it possible to guide architectural, structural, and MEP choices toward solutions accessible to the widest range of users, including those with disabilities, and toward high environmental performance. The design was carried out using BIM methodology, in accordance with 3D, 4D, 5D, and 7D principles.