By James Oyedijo: For the most part, airports are places people leave from. The excitement of going away generally outweighs that of coming back. That’s why departures are grand and located on top, teeming with shops and restaurants; while arrivals are located in a flat utilitarian luggage-collect-space below. What happens design-wise, when the arrival is just as important as the departure?

Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah International Airport, designed by OMA, will accommodate two million Muslims for the holy Hajj period in Mecca. With this in mind, the designers at OMA had to conceptualize an airport that balanced arriving and departing. Their design follows the organizing principal of “the ring”. Both the main terminal and Royal pavilion with their crescent-like shape enclose an internal oasis that can accommodate different forms of use. The layout of the airport is organized in such a way that Airport and Hajj become a single integrated whole without forcing the airport to double in size.

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