World airports on design high

Major investment in airport design and construction is taking place in the US and Europe. Athens is getting a new 1.5bn international airport, while British Airways is spending 62m on expanding and upgrading its own terminal at John F Kennedy Airport in New York. Meanwhile HOK International has been appointed as framework architect for Heathrow Terminal 3’s 60m refurbishment.

Athens’ Eleftheiros Venezelos airport – named after a Greek politician – will cover an area of 17 million m2 and will handle 16 million passengers a year.

Earthworks have started on the Greco-German joint venture and the airport is due to open in 2001, after which Athens’ existing airport will close. The logo is by Greek advertising agency Solid.

Greek consultancy Red Design has created a kiosk and all communication material for the airport’s promotion.

British Airways’ new facility at JFK is being designed by New York architect Corgan Associates. It will feature luxury lounges, a self-contained shopping plaza and leisure centre.

“This investment will put us light years ahead of the competition since it is being planned to meet the demands of our high flyers,” says BA chief executive Bob Ayling.