Sydney Domestic Airport – T3 Foodcourt

Overview

Sydney Airport’s Terminal 3 retail precinct handles some of the highest daily foot traffic of any commercial environment in the country. As part of a staged retail upgrade led by Architectus, the brief called for an expanded range of food and beverage vendors alongside greater seating capacity — and a step up in the comfort and quality of the settings on offer to passengers. Corian® was specified as the foundation for the food court’s joinery, seating, and columns.

The Brief

The brief for the Terminal 3 upgrade had two main components: expanding the choice of retailers and the capacity of the food court itself, and elevating the food and beverage zone offering — not just the calibre of vendors, but the level of comfort and choice available to passengers moving through the space. That meant a significantly expanded scope for joinery and furniture within the food court, all of which needed to perform under constant public use while meeting food safety and compliance standards, and holding up for the long term with minimal maintenance.

Material Specification

Corian® was specified in Carrara Crema as the foundation material for the foodcourt’s joinery, used across two distinct scales. At large scale, columns throughout the food court were fluted and clad in Corian® to help anchor the space. At a more detailed level, banquette and joinery pieces feature sculpted, curved forms with integrated lighting, and the fronts of joinery incorporate integrated power and USB charging for passengers using the space. The project was fabricated by BCI Furniture.

Design Outcome

Architectus selected Corian® for the food court specifically for the combination of longevity and customisation it offered as a foundation for bespoke joinery. As Donal Merrigan, Associate and Project Lead at Architectus, explains, the material meant the practice could deliver something “compliant in terms of food standards and safety” while giving the airport confidence the finish would “last its lifetime” — without limiting the design ambition for the space.

The project ran to a tight design and construction program, and CASF’s ability to workshop shop drawings collaboratively was central to keeping pace. Small sample sizes were used to test whether the sculpted, curved joinery forms were workable before committing to full fabrication, and CASF worked iteratively over the drawings with Architectus to keep sightlines seamless and patterning aligned across every piece.

Why It Works for Similar Projects

The non-porous and seamless surface of Corian® makes it well suited to any high-traffic public space where hygiene, durability, and a consistent premium finish all matter — shopping centres, transport hubs, hospitality venues, and food & beverage fitouts. If a surface is damaged over years of heavy use, it can be re-polished and restored on site rather than replaced outright.

For practices weighing up a similar brief, Donal’s own advice is to lean into the balance Corian® offers — the way it holds design, customisation, and long-term commercial performance together in a single material. A minimal material palette, layered with texture and form, can deliver a distinctive result without sacrificing the practical demands of a 24/7 public environment.

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