Chapters

1 A New Building Type

1.1 Early Aerodromes
The design of the first airport and basic concepts used in design. Basic requirements
of an aerodrome.

1.2 Air station to Airport

The design development from crude open greens to a paved layout of runways,
taxiways and aprons. From an air station to an airport terminal.

1.3 Formalised Planning Programmes

Not very long after the construction of the first airports, designers realised the need
for a well planned space for safety and easy of movement of aircrafts. Later this was
extended to the movement of people and services within the airport.

2 Airports in the Post-War Period

2.1 European Airports
European airports improved significantly in design after the war years. This was
mainly because the technology & efficiency that was developed for military aircraft
management was not being applied in the civil aviation industry.

2.2 Golden Age of Flying

With the advent of inter-continental air travel, the golden age of flying had come into
being. The rich & powerful would use airports and immediately the design of terminal started
to become more complex. Luxury and comfort in air travel impacted the design of terminals.

2.3 Airports of America

American airports were designed from scratch with large allocations of land for the
complex. These designs were industrial in nature, with repetitive terminals, similar design of
aprons and terminals. These features made airport design an easily replicable architecture.

3 Technology & Global Standards in Design

3.1 Improvement in Technology of Aviation
The improvements in aviation technology turned aircrafts from crude mechanical
machines to sophisticated computer controlled devices. This saw an immediate improvement
in airport designs too. Operation of airports became more technology intensive. Thus the
architecture had to respond to the demand for integration emergent technology.
3.2 Standardisation in Architecture of Airports
As the demand for aviation grew further and more and more airports were built. Every
major nation standardised the design strategy of airports as government policy. This also led
to a generic international standard of design being followed in all major airports.

3.3 Emergence of Aero-city

With increasing number of flight and the huge city like complexes airports had
becomes, the idea of aero-cities were explored. This created an entire sub-city that contained
all services required by a large airport along with ancillary industries. The planning and
construction of these aero cities became more an more important with airports having
negative impacts on their surrounding areas.

3.4 Building Design Standard

The building standards for design of a successful airport terminal. This includes
functional design parameters, anthropometry etc.

4 Airports of the 21st Century

4.1 Innovations in construction methods & materials
Major changes in materials have come into being with improvement in façade glass,
design of space frames & computer generated sustainability. Additionally, parametric
architecture is also an important aspect of innovation in designs.

4.2 Case Study of 2 Modern Airports

London Heathrow Airport (for studying design constantly evolving airport) and
Beijing International Airport (Planned aero city)

4.3 Qualitative Features of an Airport

Present day airport design strategies have included user experience as a major
parameter in the design. Thus, designs went ahead from just creating better interior spaces to
making the airport a designed experience for the user. Along with this, airports designers
strive to showcase vernacular design features and give the aesthetic feel of the country its
located in. This aspect is shown drawing examples from the design of Istanbul International
Airport & Chatrapati Shivaji Maharj Airport in Mumbai.