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Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas Airport offers travellers a unique sense of space.
The striking roof design resembling birds’ wings covers a total of 200,000 square metres
extending over 1.2 kilometres, making the interior feel light and airy. The choice of
bamboo as the material for lining the curved structure is also unusual. Its properties
make it the ideal choice: hard on the outside, hollow on the inside and extremely
flexible, while at the same time durable and strong.
The wood itself is 25 per cent harder than oak. The outer layers of the bamboo poles
are the hardest and provide the stability. The hollow insides are what give the material
its elasticity and low weight. Bamboo can grow up to a height of 40 metres, with a
pole circumference of up to half a metre. A member of the grass family, it is one of the
fastest growing plants in the world.
A new departure