Sneak peak: Facelift for LAX Theme Building

First look at the refurubished Theme Building at LAX (above). It has been under wraps since a great, half-ton section of stucco crashed to the floor in March 2007. The iconic building is finally shedding the web of scaffolding in preparation for a relaunch in the fall.


Since the early 60s the Theme Building has been celebrated for its Jetson-like styling and its long, arching, parabolic legs. The building has been under wraps since it the accident, although the famous Encounter Restaurant has since reopened. We hope that the rooftop platform, which has been closed since 9/11 for security reasons, will also be open to the public.

We like the Theme Building. It's a fine example of an architectual style known as "Googie" or "Populuxe", once memorably described by William Gibson as "raygun gothic" thanks to its retro-futuristic styling.

The superhub, your next generation airport

The New York Times has just published a fantastic piece describing the airport just over the horizon, which it describes as a "superhub", probably "constructed offshore on a man-made island". It then runs through a bevy of emerging airport technology trends: online check-in and ticketing; biometric security portals; monorails and underground trains. Nice pic too courtesy of Grimshaw Architects.

"The airport is designed like a wheel: at the center is the control tower, rising above a central hub encircled by airport and airline offices and topped by gardens; the outside rim houses the terminals, which are connected to the central hub by spokes — thin, glazed concourses with moving walkways."

Prince George's "wooden" terminal grabs award

Skylight at Prince George Airport, originally uploaded by dora_explorer (biking in France).

Wood: simple, honest, lightweight, cheap and sustainable. It is undoubtedly the most underused and undervalued building material when it comes to air terminals. So it's nice that British Columbia's Prince George Airport has been rewarded for its excellence for innovation in architecture by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada for making good use of wood.


According to a report in the Prince George Citizen, the judges remarked that the terminal's "durability, sustainability, elegant detailing and cost were all weighed in the decisions to develop a simple natural palette for the building," while adding that the creation of "simple beautiful surfaces and minimalistic detailing," openness of the interior to the extensions, "stressed and enhanced by an elegant roof that appears to float. " In sum, they called it an "elegant creation in the context of normal cost constraints."

The effect is breathtaking: creating a seamless"indoor-outdoor" experience for travellers in the departure lounge. Prince George is one of the few airports in the world where it is common that bears and other wildlife wander just opposite the terminal and beyond the runway. Don't worry there's a thick layer of paw-proof glass, just in case the beasties get too close.

Sneak peak: Barcelona Terminal 1

huge, originally uploaded by popatrapat.

Barcelona's shiny shiny Terminal one - an extension to its main hub - is due to open on June 16. We've found a few pre-launch pix for you - and it looks HUGE. Designed by Ricardo Bofill, the new terminal will increase capacity in Barca's long overcrowded airport from 30m to 55m passengers annually and will stretch over 1.000,000 m2. You can see many more images here. What is immediately apparent is that the new terminal will serve as a minimalist counterpoint to Madrid's technicolour Barajas, which opened a couple of years ago.

"The design of the building combines an international, multicultural character with the luminosity and warmth of Mediterranean architecture. Its transparency allows natural light to flood into all public spaces and provides panoramic views of the runways, the sea and the natural landscape. By combining maximum functionality, local technology, respect for the environment and unique architecture, the new airport terminal will become an intercontinental hub, a reference and original prototype for forthcoming hubs in the rest of the world."