Could you design Western Sydney Airport’s new terminal?

Western Sydney Airport has called for expressions of interest from leading airport designers for the design of its new terminal. 

The Harbour City’s new airport is scheduled to open in 2026, and the government-owned company Western Sydney Airport is looking for a firm that has designed a comparable airport in the past five years to design the airport’s new terminal.

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Graham Millet, the company’s CEO, said that he wants the firm to involve nearby university students in the design process, and that he wants the winning design to draw focus on “offering passengers a world-class experience” more than the building’s external aesthetics.

“This is an incredible opportunity for architecture or design students who study or live in Western Sydney to be a part of this once-in-a-generation project,” Millet said, adding that he wanted the terminal “to be a destination in itself”.

“Think retail, restaurants and entertainment before you go through security, streamlined processing, lots of space and light, and a terminal that’s reliable, fun and easy to find your way around,” he said.

“When they’re inside the terminal – that’s when we want visitors to say ‘wow’. We’re aiming for it to be selfie central.”

After the call for entries closes, Western Sydney Airport will whittle the expressions of interest down to a shortlist of applicants, from which an as yet unknown panel will choose a winner.

The final terminal design is scheduled to be revealed by the end of the year.

The government hopes Western Sydney Airport, which will have a combined international and domestic terminal, will initially service up to 10 million passengers a year, and grow in stages to become the largest gateway to Australia by the 2060s, when it is hoped to service more than 80 million passengers.