Contributing to the care and protection of the planet was the main vision that motivated Corporación América to undertake the challenge of building the world's first eco-airport, even more so, when the chosen location for carrying out this challenge was the Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site.
It is possible to achieve synergy between the airport world and the environment, driving development and growth in a responsible and efficient manner.
This Argentine holding company, which has built more than 50 airports worldwide, wanted to be a pioneer in demonstrating that it is possible to build and operate an environmentally friendly airport, without sacrificing high standards in technology and quality of service.
Environmental strategies, applied from the design stage, sought achieve the minimum environmental impact.The orientation of the winds and sunlight, as well as climatic conditions, thermal comfort within the spaces, and the aesthetic and visual quality of the surroundings were taken advantage of; optimal materials from local sources and reusable materials were selected; in short, Everything was thought out and designed to respect and make the most of natural resources..
Each step was rigorously supervised to be recognised and validated by the The U.S. Green Building Council, The U.S. Green Building Council, which serves as a benchmark for green buildings with environmental best practices worldwide. In December 2014, we received the LEED Gold certification which this organisation grants, making us the First Ecological Airport in the world to receive it, as a complete construction.
Besides the challenge of creating an environmentally friendly building, there were many details that made this one, a complex and distinct construction; among others, we highlight the fact that the airport is located on one of the islands of the Archipelago, more than 900 km from the mainland, with no drinking water or roads. The challenge was great and, in some cases, with a higher economic cost, but the satisfaction is enormous. We can proudly say that is it possible to achieve synergy between the airport world and the environment, driving development and growth in a responsible and efficient manner, which does not result in the depletion or overload of natural systems and deterioration of ecosystems. Projects brought to fruition, such as the Galápagos Ecological Airport, become examples of what architecture and the airport sector should achieve.
But our objectives have transcended and, in our pursuit of consistency with environmentally friendly activities, we have been working to achieve the Carbon Footprint Reduction certification of the programme. Airport Carbon Accreditation, from ACI (Airports Council International), which allows for the assessment and recognition of participating airports“ efforts to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions. In June 2015, we received Level 1 ”Mapping" accreditation, becoming the second airport in Latin America to achieve it. We will continue with the subsequent levels of this Programme, until we are certified in Green Operation & Maintenance, which will ultimately complete a process unique in the history of airports worldwide and serve as an example for the entire sector.
We think green and build the future.
