Gulf Construction Online - Turning Japanese at Dubai’s new terminal

UAE Focus

Terminal 3 ... Zen gardens to soothe and calm travellers’ nerves.

Turning Japanese at Dubai’s new terminal

01 January 2009

Planters, the region’s leading interior landscaping company, has executed the interior landscaping of the new Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport.

Planters was tasked with styling the interior landscaping of this ultra-luxurious terminal for Emirates airline, which has ushered in a ‘new era in Dubai’s aviation history’.
Working on a Japanese-inspired theme, designed by British landscape architect Phillip Cave, Planters constructed two ‘Zen Gardens’ located at either end of the departure lounge, thereby creating a space where passengers can escape into a world of tranquillity – “a place for travellers to relax in to help restore their equilibrium, a challenge of the highest order to fulfil successfully, in what has become one of the world’s busiest airports”, according to Planters director Jonathan Pardoe.
Planters selected and hand-picked hundreds of plants for the project, amongst which were some that had never been used in interior landscaping in the region before, such as the 4-m-tall Ligustrums (Japanese or wax privet) which share centre stage in the gardens with the Bonsai Podocarpus trees, which have dense evergreen pointed dark green leaves and symmetrical branches, making this tree a classic bonsai.
“Our aim was to recreate the vision of the landscape architect. Working from his plans and perspective drawing, we feel we have achieved this. In the process, we have created two visually arresting Zen gardens inside a very modern building. These spaces will be enjoyed by millions of visitors each year and that thought makes us very proud,” said Pardoe.
“The unique aspect of this project is the sheer size of the Araucaria trees, a conifer and close relative of the monkey puzzle tree,” said Pardoe, referring to the seven, 8.5 m Araucaria araucana used in the gardens. “This is the only project in the Middle East where such large Araucaria have been planted and was no easy task with each tree weighing over one tonne! They are beautiful trees with immense presence, they really look extremely majestic and create an impressive focal point.”