Anticipating a significant rise in air travel demand in the future, this project imagines a master plan for a city airport that fully integrates itself into an urban context. It imagines a time when aviation technology might be advanced enough so that airports, aircraft and cities can coexist at a more friendly level. Micro-terminals could replace mega terminals that lack human scale, city wide baggage systems add efficiency to the process, personal rapid transit systems, and shorter runways could slot into an urban context. In order to satisfy demand and address the increasing importance of airports on local economies, capacity in the industry needs to increase. But airports are long suffering under the strain of this increasing demand and are now isolated processing stations, restricted from growth by its neighboring urban contexts. The negative effects of aviation on the environment and necessary security measures have caused this isolation. Airports need to adapt themselves to become more attractive gateways, enhancing user experience and capture as much of the growing air traffic demand as possible to in turn drive their local economies. - - - - - Alex is an award-winning British designer. A graduate of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, his work has been published globally through the international media, with features in Dezeen, Architizer, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and GQ Magazine. His speculative Stockholm Airport City project won the Jury Prize in the Architizer A+ Awards 2016, Unbuilt Transportation Category in New York, after capturing significant worldwide attention with its exploration on how an airport and a city centre may one day co-exist. He is currently a designer and project leader at Sevil Peach Architecture + Design in London (http://www.sevilpeach.co.uk). - - - - - Aerial Futures is organized by PLANE—SITE (http://www.plane-site.com) Founding member: Fentress Architects (http://www.fentressarchitects.com) - - - - - In coordination with the 15th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, AERIAL FUTURES, GROUNDED VISIONS: Shaping the Airport Terminal of Tomorrow was a two-day symposium that took place from October 17th to 19th, 2016. The symposium brought together diverse voices in a discussion about the future of air travel, as seen through the lenses of architecture, design, technology, culture and user experience. Airports and the aviation industry are at the frontline of global demographic shifts, acting as economic engines and cultural icons. Despite being among the youngest of building typologies, airports are taking the lead as intricately-designed, highly frequented and resource-intensive structures that define how we travel, trade and connect with each other. Sessions at the symposium incorporated presentations and roundtable discussions regarding various aspects of airpot design. Aerial Futures was organized around four main themes represented in the following panels: Fantastic Infrastructure: 21st Century Terminals, Icons and Engines: Catalysts for Urban Development, Getting to Departures: User Experience, and Landing in the World of Tomorrow. Participants included: Frank Barich, Barich Consulting Nelly Ben Hayoun, NBH Studios Miklos Deri, Drive Through Airport Lukas Feireiss, Studio Lukas Feireiss Curtis Fentress, Founder & Principal, Fentress Architects Anna Gasco, ETH Zurich / Future Cities Laboratory Max Hirsh, University of Hong Kong Christian Henriksen, Nordic Office for Architecture George Kafka, &beyond collective Agatha Kessler, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Jonathan Ledgard, The Droneport Project / EPFL Lausanne Tobias Nolte, Certain Measures Dr. Wayne Place, NC State University College of Design Ashok Raiji, Arup New York Andres F. Ramirez, PLANE—SITE Ostap Rudakevych, Clouds Architecture Office Sila Siva, Autoban Alex Sutton, Sevil Peach Architecture + Design Tom Theobald, Fentress Architects Andrew Vasey, Vasey Aviation Group Martin Zangerl, UNStudio

Comments