Structure consists of one basement and three floors. Apart from viaduct solution resulting in classical terminal layout with separate arrival and departure floors, both arriving and departing passengers enter and exit from the ground floor. All main passenger areas such as check-in hall of the structure which requires wide span and height, welcome hall, baggage receipt hall and passport control hall are located on this floor.
Structure is designed with a main supporting system with 12 x 12 meter dimensions. These dimensions provide the optimum solution between the conflicting criteria of economy and degree of freedom. On the superstructure, reinforced concrete columns in the first two floors and steel columns on the top floor support the completely steel roof.
Steel roof consists of a system with spans of 36 meters and 27 meters. Main steel beams forming the steel structure continue without interruption from the canopy tip of land side to the canopy tip on the air side. Having wide spans and the empty space with three-storey height resulted in the requirement of the steel roof structure. Passing the 36-meter span with steel system allowed the use of more slender cross sections. This system also saves economy and time. This design consisting of bent I-beams allows differentiation from other steel construction systems with respect to perception of the roof from the interior space. Purlins placed on the main beams with 4-meter intervals enables mechanical spaces under the roof with their hallow and curved-cornered forms and also contribute to architectural perspective with regards to aesthetics.
A canopy solved as an extension of the roof and supported with inclined columns form protection from weather conditions in the approach from land side to the terminal. Hallow volumetric column caps at the connection of canopy to the roof is a unique characteristic of the architectural design. Lighting fixtures placed in the column caps create a dramatic effect in exterior lighting.
Due to the fact that the structure is constructed abroad and especially in a country under re-structuring, all steel members were manufactured in Ankara and delivered to site. During the design stage, manufacturer and designer worked together and created details allowing interference prior to occurrence of any problems. All connections were designed as bolted connections instead of welded connections. Since the maximum available crane capacity in Kosova and in the vicinity is 300 tonnes, each steel member is designed and manufactured in sections and limited dimensions to allow lifting with a single crane.
All mechanical components under the roof – rainwater drainage pipes, sprinklers, cable trays – with the reservations for mounting holes were superposed during the design stage. These mounting holes integrated to design were opened on the members during manufacturing stage and used at a rate of 95% during execution.
All beams forming the waving structure were pre-erected in the factory in Ankara and delivered to site after dismantling.
System is designed in accordance with Eurocode 3 norms. To minimize the heat effect due to the size of the structure, system is designed in three sections with two expansion joints. Vertical support members are in dimensions of 70 and 50/50 cm for circular and quadrangle elements, respectively. Total tonnage is 1850 tonnes for steel columns and the roof.