Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, India

The landscape design for Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad is a combination of bold contemporary design fused with sound environmental philosophy. Central to the landscape design philosophy was the creation of a unique and visually stunning environment that still maintained a strong sense of place that was in keeping with the surrounding natural and distinctly rugged landscape character of Hyderabad. To achieve this goal a plant palette of locally sourced and indigenous plant material and natural boulders harvested from the site during construction were used as the key design elements throughout the 800 hectare site. Extensive berms were created along the access roads to the airport, to create landscape character and also to control views and create visual screening. Native grass species were planted along these berms. This simple, yet effective approach, inspired by the surrounding rugged Hyderabad landscape helps to keep maintenance for large areas of the landscape to a minimum and requires little or no irrigation. The need to recharge local ground water was identified as a major issue during the design process and landscape areas were therefore designed to harvest and retain as much rainwater as possible. Over time, the collected rainwater will absorb into the ground and assist in improving the local groundwater levels.