Roland Garros Airport

Efficient natural ventilation and safe smoke vent for the new terminal in the holiday paradise

Roland Garros Airport on the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean has been given a new terminal with impressive architecture and an innovative air conditioning system to successfully and environmentally responsible cope of the increasing in tourism and trade. The new terminal, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, is the world's first bioclimatic airport terminal. It uses the trade winds for natural cooling of the building and photovoltaic systems to optimise the use of renewable energy. The terminal was designed and planned by the architects AIA Life Designers from Paris, who used natural materials and lush vegetation in this project to create a harmonious and sustainable building atmosphere.

Due to the island's special climatic conditions, the terminal required a customised system for natural ventilation in combination with the necessary smoke and heat exhaust ventilation. Particularly crucial was the possibility of lowering the temperature at night and controlling the ventilation, depending on the weather or wind, in order to keep the temperature at the airport low. D+H France developed an intelligent system solution that combines these complex requirements with the enormous safety demands of an airport.

The entire ventilation system was installed instead of a conventional, energy- and cost-intensive air conditioning system and ensures optimised temperature control in the terminal. A total of 860 louvre windows from the louvre manufacturer Fieger, equipped with D+H window drives from the LD Series, ensure precise ventilation and aeration of the building with variable, precisely positioned opening widths depending on the weather. Laser-supported presence detection systems warrant, among other things, safe ventilation and aeration in the window areas accessible to visitors in the SkyBar.

All these components are combined into one system by around 30 D+H controllers of the CPS-M type, of which around two-thirds of the controllers are solely responsible for coordinating the needs-based ventilation of the terminal. The remaining eight controllers ensure safe smoke and heat exhaust ventilation in case of fire. D+H ACB (Advanced Communication Bus) technology ensures seamless communication and precise control of the components within the system. In addition, D+H France, in cooperation with a local electrical company, is responsible for the annual maintenance of the systems to ensure their long-term reliability and efficiency.

The new terminal at Roland Garros Airport on the island of Réunion not only stands for sustainable growth and environmentally friendly, climate-related construction, but also offers the highest level of safety and comfort with D+H technology.

D+H France was honoured as a 2024 Platinum Winner of the Atmosphere Award for this highly sustainable and customised system solution.