Here's what you can expect at Changi Airport's new Terminal 4

After three years in the building, Changi Airport's new Terminal 4 (aka T4) will soon be ready for operation.

Standing where the now-demolished Budget Terminal once was, T4 will have a handling capacity of 16 million passengers a year, two-thirds that of Terminal 3.

A total of nine airlines, including four airlines of AirAsia Group as well as Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will operate at the terminal.

T4 boasts a boutique design that aims to exude fun and vibrancy. It will also "push boundaries" with the innovative use of technology in its operations.

In building T4, several challenges were addressed, including making better use of a small space.

Ms Poh Li San, vice president of the Terminal 4 Programme Management Office, Changi Airport Group, said: "We looked at ways to make T4 more space-efficient, playing with height and (arrangement of facilities) to give a grand sense of space."

To illustrate the playing with dimensions, Ms Poh highlighted the lower check-in counters. There is also a centralised area for security screening.

"Also, with T4, we  wanted to push boundaries, break new grounds and use more innovative concepts to do things better and address the existing challenges in the current terminals," said Ms Poh.

Ahead of the T4 Open House taking place between August 7 and 20, the media was given a tour of the 225,000 sqm space on Monday.

Here's what you can look forward to.

Facial recognition tech

Passengers will be familiar with the self-check in counters available at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 as part of the FAST (Fast and Seamless Travel) process.

But Terminal 4 will be the first terminal at Changi to integrate facial recognition technology into the process to authenticate a passenger's identity.

It will also be the first terminal there to offer the full suite of FAST processes, from check-in to bag-drop, immigration and boarding.

There is a total of seven check-in rows at T4 - three are the traditional manned check-in counters, while four rows are designated for FAST and have 65 automated check-in kiosks and 50 automatic bag-drop machines.

Entertainment - even at the security screening area

It can get stressful during the screening process, especially if you are travelling with multiple gadgets or suddenly realise that your clothing has a lot of metal bits.

To placate any potential stress at T4's screening area, passengers will be able to enjoy the visual experience on display on the immersive wall during screening.

Vivid imagery capturing Singapore's breath-taking skyline and popular regional landmarks, set to mild, mood music.

The motion of the images is also at a more gentle pace to inject the element of calm.

A Peranakan-themed theatrical display while waiting for your flight

• $985 million

  Cost of building Terminal 4

• 82 million passengers

  The total handling capacity of Changi Airport (per year) when T4 starts operations

• 9

  The number of airlines operating at T4 (The AirAsia Group, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, Korean Air, Spring Airlines and Vietnam Airlines)

• 81

  Total number of stores and restaurants (Shops that are new at Changi Airport include Adidas Homecourt, Treasures (Yi Dian Xin) by Imperial Treasures, Andes by Astons and London Fat Duck)

• 200,000

  Number of tickets to the T4 Open House that have been snapped up

The Heritage Zone, is marked by a intricately-designed facade, emulating a row of colourful shophouses. Below them, you'll find local businesses such as Eu Yang Sang, Bengawan Solo and Heavenly Wang Cafe.

It is a striking sight.

Modelled after the familiar shophouses that can be seen in Katong and Chinatown, each shophouse reperesents the shophouse design of a particular period in time. This includes the late-19th century Baroque style, the local Peranakan designs of the 1920s and 1930s and then the more modern look.

However, two shophouses are quite different as they are actually LED screens.

These screens provide the backdrop to a six-minute performance video - Peranakan Love Story.

The story centres on two musicians living next door to each other and their blossoming romance.

Produced in collaboration with Dick Lee, it features a strong cast comprising Benjamin Kheng, Adrian Pang, Koh Chieng Mun and more. It also features Lee's song Bunga Sayang.

Lee, who was at the preview, told the media: "As a Peranakan, I felt that a heritage corner is a unique proposition."

Lee said that his starting point was the image of a Peranakan wedding procession.

"It's a famous aspect of Peranakan culture. Of course, I was then very sure we had to have a love story which will lead to the wedding. It's a little bit of a Romeo and Juliet story."

Prepare to snap away at this Instagrammable spot

Add this to your list of 'Gram-worthy backdrops.

Located at the departure hall are two larger-than-life bird sculptures called Les Oiseaux (The Birds) by French artist Cedric Le Borgne.

These two birds are suspended mid-air, soaring high, while a third bird is perched on the ground and located at the arrival hall.

The sculptures represent "the connection between 'sky and earth' as well as 'dream and reality'".

The best time to snap this artwork? Between 6pm and 7pm, otherwise known as the golden hour. The setting sun behind this west-facing structure at the departure hall gives it a magical feel.

A work of art for your senses

Like the Kinetic Rain sculptures in Terminal 1, the Petalclouds installation at the Central Galleria in T4 is equally arresting.

It is designed to create the feel of clouds moving slowly in the sky and is designed using a basic symmetrical shape inspired by orchid petals.

This same shape is found throughout T4, from its carpet design to its marble flooring, skylights and more.

The movement of Petalclouds is accompanied by soothing, graceful compositions by BAFTA-winning Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds, who has performed two sold-out shows in Singapore in 2014.