Aecom, a global provider of professional technical and management support services, said its joint venture with Italian car design firm Pininfarina has won a major contract to design the regional air traffic control (ATC) tower and technical building at the new airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

The win marks Aecom’s first collaboration with Pininfarina, the design house renowned for its car designs for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, among others, said Aecom.

The collaboration combines the expertise of Aecom’s architectural and engineering teams with Pininfarina’s distinctive architectural style that epitomises speed and movement, influenced by automotive design, it added.

The contract was awarded by ÌGA, a consortium of five leading Turkish contractors – Cengiz, Mapa, Limak, Kolin and Kalyon. The Turkish government had roped in ÌGA to build Istanbul New Airport as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and also its operator.

The Aecom JV was selected for the project from a total of six entries after they won the international design competition conducted by ÌGA for the regional ATC tower and technical building at the Istanbul New Airport.

The other top firms in the fray included Zaha Hadid, Fuksas, Moshe Safdie, Grimshaw-Nordic and RMJM.

The Aecom and Pininfarina design evokes the aerodynamic forms used in automotive and aviation design, and includes an elliptical tower that will be visible to all passengers flying in and out of the new airport. The tower shape is inspired by the tulip, which has been the symbol of Istanbul for many centuries.