DOHA – It’s not just about cold, bare places anymore: among the departures and arrivals of modern airports, beauty can also be found. December 7, International Civil Aviation Day instituted by the UN, is perhaps the right day to find out with the agency specializing in guided tours Civitatis (civitatis.com), which takes us on a journey through the most beautiful airports in the world.
Opened in 2014, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, has become hugely popular on Instagram for its sleek shapes and lines and the giant sculpture of a teddy bear at the center of its main hall. The futuristic airport also houses a gym with paid spa in the departures area, a swimming pool and a squash court to make the stopover between flights more pleasant.
Menara Airport in Marrakech, Morocco, has been in operation for 70 years; but after the last renovation, the futuristic Terminal 3 offers passengers a structure with decorations and references to Islamic culture. It is also one of the most sustainable airports in the world thanks to many solar panels.
Denver Airport has a surprising exterior structure, full of light and lightness thanks to the project of architect Curtis Frentiss and the clever use of Teflon curtains.
The Adolfo Suárez-Barajas International Airport in Madrid is huge and since 2006, thanks to the construction of Terminal 4, it is also a beautiful structure, the work of architects Antonio Lamela, Richard Rogers and Luis Vidal. The highlight is the undulating roof with bamboo slats and skylights that artistically modulate the natural light.
Also in Spain, Bilbao International Airport bears the signature of another archistar: Santiago Calatrava. In the Basque capital, the architect designed one of the most spectacular airports in the world in the shape of a bird, with two symmetrical wings and a pointed beak pointing to the sky.
The design of Lyon Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport is also by Santiago Calatrava: this airport too, like that of Bilbao, has the shape of a bird in flight. It is a true jewel of modern architecture dedicated to the author of The Little Prince.
Inaugurated in 2019 with the ambition of becoming the largest terminal in the world, the Beijing-Daxing International Airport, the work of the famous architect and designer Zaha Hadid, is an imposing building of 700 thousand square meters in the shape of a star in six branches. .
Singapore’s Changi International Airport is very original: between a gate and a waiting room, it houses a butterfly garden, a swimming pool on the roof, a cinema (free), three-storey slides, a museum of art and even a tropical garden with a forty meter high waterfall.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport is a futuristic construction that looks like something out of the movie Blade Runner. The structure has become a symbol of modern architecture, with lights creating startling effects against the dark colors of the building.
Designed by architect Franz Josef Strauss, Munich International Airport, Germany is one of the most elegant and beautiful in the world. But that’s not all: it was also voted the best airport in Europe according to the World Airport Awards.
Indeed, it offers many possibilities to spend time having fun or working comfortably: free unlimited wifi, a golf course, cabins with bed and desk for only 10 euros per hour, a spa, a traditional brasserie Bavarian and even Christmas with an ice skating rink (ANSA).
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