Terminal 3 Frankfurt Airport

With the new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport, one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects is entering the home stretch. Following completion of construction at the end of 2025, the terminal will go into operation in April 2026. The client is Fraport AG, with architectural planning and supervision provided by Christoph Mäckler Architekten and CHM Airport Planning under Prof. Christoph Mäckler.

The design is based on the "Growing Beetle" concept, which emerged as the winner of an international competition in 2005. Like a beetle, the terminal is divided into clearly distinguishable parts: the spacious check-in hall as the "head", the security building and the central marketplace as the "body", and the piers as the "legs". This functional separation aids orientation and makes the complex processes of an airport spatially intuitive.

The focus is on a modular, expandable system. All vertical access points and technical shafts were already designed in the first construction phase to allow for expansion during ongoing operations. With piers G, H and J, capacity for up to 19 million passengers per year will be available from 2026. When fully expanded with an additional Pier K, capacity can increase to up to 25 million passengers. The building has a total floor space of 176,000 square metres and a gross floor area of around 403,000 square metres.

Architecturally, Terminal 3 is designed as an urban structure. Piers, gates and lounges are organised like streets and squares. Continuous waiting areas up to 600 metres long allow flexible docking positions for different types of aircraft. Technical bridges on the roofs bundle building services systems so that adjustments to new technologies can be made without interfering with passenger flow.

Natural daylight, warm natural stone tones such as Jura limestone and travertine, and beige-coloured structures characterise the appearance. The 18-metre-high, filigree glass façade of the check-in hall reacts elastically to wind loads. Inside, the 6,000-square-metre marketplace with retail and catering facilities, as well as generous sightlines between the arrivals and departures levels, create a high quality of stay – and an architectural framework that combines functionality with a feel-good character.