The Five Most Stunning Airports In The World
We’ve probably all experienced delayed flights information and missed connections with no other choice than to stay put and soldier on. Let’s face it; airports can be either a gateway to sunnier and more interesting climes or an endless limbo-like nightmare you can’t escape. However, many airports have really upped their game and are now not only architectural masterpieces but are placing a real emphasis on putting the traveler first. Personally, I would prefer to get stuck in a giant shopping mall than endure the endless tedium of just an airport and indeed, many incorporate both. So if like Tom Hanks, you find yourself stuck in The Terminal for hours if not days on end, at least try to make it one of our top five most stunning airports!
1. Beijing Capital International Airport Beijing, China
The Beijing Olympics in 2008 spawned Terminal 3, which is the world’s sixth-largest building. It was designed by an English man Sir Norman Foster and is considered to be one of the best designed airports in the world. Skylights that tint a variety of colours provide an enormous amount of natural light as you pass through the main terminal which is a bonus feature as most of us do not get to see daylight during our temporary airport visits. The scale and architectural brilliance of Terminal 3 contrast the drab, greyness of Terminals 1 and 2.
2. King Abdulaziz International
Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Built with a special Hajj terminal to accommodate pilgrims to Mecca, the remarkable thing about this airport is that it is in use for only six weeks per year during the pilgrimage. Opened in 1981, Bangladeshi engineer Fazlur Rahman Kahn the American architects SOM designed the huge, naturally ventilated grid of tents, which are made from Teflon-coated fabric. The sides of the tents are open so that the building is like a giant sunshade where pilgrims avoid the scorching heat and can even cook their own food.
3. Incheon International Airport Seoul, South Korea
South Korea’s largest and busiest airport was opened in 2001 and is without doubt a sleek and modern structure that has won many awards so far. But there is more to come. In 2011, the managers of Incheon held a design competition for a new terminal that would incorporate future-proof technology and green building techniques. Corgan, one of the top 10 architecture firms in the US, won the contract. But we will have to wait another few years to see the finished product – the build will take place over 10 years.
4. Kansai International Airport Osaka
Japan Kansai International Airport was opened in 1994 to alleviate heavy traffic at Osaka International Airport, which only handles domestic flights these days. The most interesting fact about Kansai is that it was built on a man-made island, three miles off the coast of Japan. Designed by Renzo Piano, responsible for The Shard in London, Kansai was an ambitious and expensive project but this has paid off as the airport is both typhoon and earthquake proof. There were more than 6,000 fatalities on land in 1995 Kobe earthquake, whose epicentre was just 20km from Kansai, yet Kansai remained unharmed. The American Society of Engineers named Kansai one of its 10 Civil Engineering Monuments of the Millennium in 2001, a well-deserved accolade.
5. Dubai International Airport Dubai
United Arab Emirates Dubai International Airport was designed by Paul Andreu who’s responsible for a number of world-class airports including Paris’s Charles de Gaulle. Although it was built in 1959, Dubai is still a modern gateway between east and west. The Sheikh Rashid Terminal was added in 2000 with a capacity to handle more than 20 million passengers per year.
Have you visited any of these airports? If so which was your favorite and why? or have you been to an airport which you feel is even more amazing? Discuss in the comments box below.
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