The terminal, which is the biggest in Spain, was commissioned to enable Barajas International Airport to compete with major hub airports within Europe. The core building comprises a sequence of parallel spaces separated by a linear block allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the interior. The same form is applied to the satellite, which is comprised of two linear blocks, one for passport control and the other containing the gates. The bamboo linear roof structure is connected above by a chain of roof lights, permitting maximum flexibility in the arrangement of accommodation on each of the floors. This enables the building to be expanded in phases. The new terminal has a metro, rail station and landside transit link to the existing terminals as well as a transit system linking the core terminal with the satellite.
