Airbus goes China

Final Assembly Line for the A320 Family: In 2006, Airbus Operations GmbH initiated the planning of a new final assembly line for the Airbus A320 in Tianjin, China.
The port city of Tianjin is located 140 km southeast of Beijing and is an industrial center, traffic hub and cultural center of the region. The plant borders on the site of the international airport. For Airbus, it is the first production plant outside Europe. Components of the A320 family from the European plants in Toulouse and Hamburg are assembled here. Four aircraft per month are completed. These are mainly delivered to the Chinese market.
PSP worked on this order as general planner.
On a site of 110 hectares, the aircraft factory with most of the necessary production and infrastructure buildings was built according to German planning standards. The planning of further buildings was carried out by two other architectural firms. For the entire plant PSP ensured quality control on site with its senior site management. The technical supervision was carried out in close cooperation with Chinese planners and contractors.

Airbus A320 Final Assembly Plant

Location

Tianjin, PR China

Client

Airbus Deutschland GmbH, Hamburg / Germany

Size

9.100 m²

Year

2008

The site was originally planted with cotton fields, which were crossed by moats. The first task was therefore to develop the site and establish the infrastructure. All buildings were founded on piles and constructed earthquake-proof. The total construction time was limited to two years, and the first aircraft was delivered in 2009.
PSP developed a design charter to give the plant a uniform appearance. According to these, the buildings are coordinated in their cubature and height. The halls as well as the administration buildings will have flat roofs in different constructions. All buildings will be designed uniformly and will receive a metal panel facade. The colouring of the panels is bright and emphasises the metal character. Light bands will supply the buildings with daylight. Special uses are highlighted by all-glass facades.

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Picture Credits: CAPDI / PSP Architects Engineers, Hamburg