As part of a £4bn investment to reinvigorate Heathrow Airport, the International Departures Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 has undergone a redesign and refurbishment. As the UK’s only international hub airport, Heathrow is continually upgrading and improving to offer passengers world-class facilities in a comfortable and inviting environment.
Terminal 3’s redevelopment will enable a further 17,000 passengers to travel through the building each day, meaning the departures lounge needed to be reconfigured and expanded to accommodate these growing numbers.
A key part of creating the right ambience was the lighting. The scheme was created by award-winning lighting designers Studio Fractal, who engaged Architainment Lighting in the project. Having worked with Architainment before, the designers knew they would be able to choose from an extensive range of products to fulfil the needs of the lighting scheme.
As with all of the Heathrow redevelopment, the upgrade of Terminal 3 was carried out to the highest specifications, creating an unrivalled experience for passengers.
To assist with this, Architainment supplied Philips Color Kinetic’s Custom Flex MX low-smoke, zero-halogen cable, which was installed behind Barrisol stretch ceiling. Set in grid formation, the Custom Flex MX created moving images, controlled by Pharos VLC, which was also supplied by Archtainment.
Elsewhere in the terminal Vaya Tube also from the Philips Color Kinetics range was installed to deliver long lines of light, as well as present movement which replicated the motion created the Flex MX.
More solutions from the Philips Color Kinetics family were used across the development, including Purestyle which delivered colour and white light. Also provided to the project by Architainment were solutions from a range of linear LEDs, which was installed to offer clean lines of light in the ceiling.
Nic Tolkien – Architainment Lighting’s Managing Director
The redevelopment of Heathrow is such a significant and challenging project, it was incredibly rewarding to play a part and know our work will be seen by millions of visitors each year.
By providing a number of products from across our portfolio, Architainment has contributed to a hugely successful redevelopment of one of the world’s most-used and well-loved transport terminals
Color Kinetics Products used in Heathrow Terminal 3
You can view the entire Color Kinetics range in our Products Section
Pharos Products used in heathrow terminal 3
You can view the entire Pharos range in our Products Section
A Brief history of heathrow terminal 3
Terminal 3 was opened as the Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961; it was built to handle flight departures for long-haul routes. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities added included the UK’s first moving walkways.
BOAC and the two US airlines, Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines (TWA), dominated operations at the terminal throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1969 the terminal was renovated to handle the new Boeing 747 which was introduced to the airport on 23 January 1970. Pan American sold its Heathrow landing rights to United Airlines in 1990 and TWA sold its to American Airlines in 1992.
The terminal was refurbished between 1987 and 1990 at a cost of £110 million. In 2006, the new £105 million Pier 6 was completed to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; Emirates and Qantas now operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380. Redevelopment of Terminal 3’s forecourt through the addition of a new four-lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with canopy to the front of the terminal building, was completed in 2007.
These improvements were intended to improve passengers’ experiences, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. As part of this project, Virgin Atlantic was assigned its own dedicated check-in area, known as ‘Zone A’, which features a large sculpture and atrium. As of 2013, Terminal 3 has an area of 98,962 square metres (1,065,220 sq ft).
Heathrow Airport Limited also has plans for a £1bn upgrade of the rest of the terminal over the next ten years which will include the renovation of aircraft piers and the arrivals forecourt. A new baggage system connecting to Terminal 5 (for British Airways connections) is currently under construction. In addition to the baggage system, the baggage claim hall is also set to undergo changes with dedicated A380 belts and an improved design and layout.
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