Western Sydney International's terminal opens, with a solar roof and a ceiling built for daylight

Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport welcomed its first passengers on Sunday 25 October, giving the public its first full day inside the new terminal. The building at Badgerys Creek grew from the initial design concept by Zaha Hadid Architects and COX Architecture, who won the international design competition in 2019, and was taken through design and construction by Woods Bagot, the architectural partner in builder Multiplex's core consultant team.

Jetstar flight JQ362 to the Gold Coast was the first passenger departure, leaving just before 11.30am. The Prime Minister marked the occasion as the first time in more than 50 years that Australia has opened a major new airport. For the airlines, the routes and the wider build, see our Western Sydney Airport project article. This piece is about the building itself.

Project at a glance

From competition to construction

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and COX were selected from more than 40 applicants, narrowed to five shortlisted competitors, and appointed master architect. That role covers an overarching design for the entire airport precinct, plus guidelines for how it expands in future stages. The concept draws on the traditional Australian veranda and the natural beauty of the surrounding bushland.

Multiplex was awarded the terminal contract in June 2021 and delivered an optimised design for the terminal in collaboration with consultants including Airbiz and architects Woods Bagot. Terminal construction ran for almost four years. The roof was finished in July 2024, when the airport passed 80 per cent complete, and major construction of the terminal was complete in June 2025, wrapping up the airport's major construction works.

A roof that does the work

Woods Bagot describes the roof as productive. Seen from above, its gentle peaks and undulations echo the plateaux and plains of the land. According to the federal government, the terminal has more than 6,000 solar panels supplying renewable electricity, and harvested rainwater is used in the airport's bathrooms, irrigation and cooling towers.

The structure underneath is home-grown. More than 100 workers, many of them Western Sydney locals, spent about 18 months building the roof, which uses more than 3,500 tonnes of steelwork and over 40 km of Australian-made steel purlins (the horizontal members that carry the roof sheeting). The steel was mainly fabricated in Adelaide, Whyalla, Tamworth and Orange.

Daylight through the ceiling

Inside, the defining feature is the sculptural ceiling. It filters daylight from skylights in the roof, an effect the architects compare with sunlight falling through eucalyptus bark in the region's forests. COX's design lead David Holm has said the team set out to make "an airport that belongs to this place", and light is central to how passengers find their way through the building. Domestic and international gates sit under the one roof to make connections quicker.

Clever floors, faster fit-out

Levels two and three use Slimdek 210, a composite steel floor system developed by BlueScope and made in Australia. Multiplex says it cut labour and concrete and let the baggage system fit-out start several months early. A prefabricated service riser system allowed each building core's risers to go in within a single day. More than 60 local subcontractors, consultants and suppliers worked on the terminal, with contracts worth over $400 million combined.

Shaped with Country

The design was developed in consultation with the Dharug Custodians, with First Nations consultant Murrawin. Indigenous artists from Western Sydney were commissioned for artworks in the terminal, including Dharug and Darkinjung artist Adam Laws, whose sculptures, Barayabinyang or Songbirds, stand in the external forecourt.

The building has already been recognised by the profession. It won an Award for Public Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architects' 2026 NSW Architecture Awards in July, credited to COX Architecture, Zaha Hadid Architects and Woods Bagot, and is shortlisted in the Completed Buildings – Transport category at the 2026 World Architecture Festival, which runs from 18 to 20 November.

What's next

The terminal's modular design lets it grow in stages as passenger numbers rise, following the guidelines set by the master architects. In the nearer term, the federal government lists the Sydney Metro Airport rail connection and road upgrades to Elizabeth Drive, Fifteenth Avenue and Mamre Road among the future projects serving the airport.

Published 1 November 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026