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Stansted: Norman Foster and the Architecture of Flight
Book by Powell, Ken, Bryant, Richard, Sayer, Philip
Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 27, 2017
Good account of the context, dynamics and design process around the conception and construction of Stansted.
Despite the over-poetic tone of some essays i.e. The poetry of the lighting, come on!, this collection of essays have aged well, just like the building, and provide an insight of some of the challenges existing at the time around designing a modern airport in the uk.
Good timeline from the inception, design, construction and systems, finishing off with some original pictures and photographs of the terminal.
Most interesting:
-The importance of having visionary client figures in making great break through architecture
- The contempt of Foster on the over commercialisation of the airport (upsetting the client along the way) and how the glamour of flying had been lost (the world has moved on, lord!)
-The powerful and appropriate vision of a highly serviced, flexible, single-level shed for an airport, via the trees.
-Comparing the pictures with today's terminal, the m2/pax ratio has dramatically decreased!
The fact that the terminal has kept its integrity (just about) including the new ownership, the monopoly of Low Cost Carriers and its specific passenger mix and the exponential proliferation of retail and catering, is only an homage of the adequateness of the original strategy, even if Lord F is probably rolling his eyes every time he lands at stansted in his humble jet.
Despite the over-poetic tone of some essays i.e. The poetry of the lighting, come on!, this collection of essays have aged well, just like the building, and provide an insight of some of the challenges existing at the time around designing a modern airport in the uk.
Good timeline from the inception, design, construction and systems, finishing off with some original pictures and photographs of the terminal.
Most interesting:
-The importance of having visionary client figures in making great break through architecture
- The contempt of Foster on the over commercialisation of the airport (upsetting the client along the way) and how the glamour of flying had been lost (the world has moved on, lord!)
-The powerful and appropriate vision of a highly serviced, flexible, single-level shed for an airport, via the trees.
-Comparing the pictures with today's terminal, the m2/pax ratio has dramatically decreased!
The fact that the terminal has kept its integrity (just about) including the new ownership, the monopoly of Low Cost Carriers and its specific passenger mix and the exponential proliferation of retail and catering, is only an homage of the adequateness of the original strategy, even if Lord F is probably rolling his eyes every time he lands at stansted in his humble jet.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review