Foster + Partners – Spaceport, New Mexico

Catering for the exclusive world of private jets and luxury aviation, leading architecture firms are designing statement terminals that celebrate the glamour of travel

Most of us are happy with a new pair of socks and a peck on the cheek for father’s day, but Jay-Z was given a private jet. Jim Carrey’s got one too, as has John Travolta. Google’s three top executives are reported to have eight aeroplanes between them, which might explain why they are building their own airport. The $82 million Corporate Jet Facility in San Jose, designed by Gensler Architects, broke ground in January.

For the majority of us, a private jet would be one of life’s greatest luxuries. To hire a Boeing 727 from Boston to Bahrain for the Grand Prix might cost around £400,000. Nothing would be too much hassle. You pull up casually at the terminal just half an hour – maybe 20 minutes if you’re a regular –  before your flight. Greeting you by your first name, a porter takes your luggage to the plane while a valet parks your car. Inside the terminal, refreshments are served and your captain comes over to say hello and discuss the day’s flying conditions. You wait around a little while – there are still time-slots to obey – before being ushered through a low-key security gate and privately driven to your plane on the tarmac. Then off you go.

3D Reid – Farnborough Business Aviation Airport

The experience is discreet, private and very separate from normal flyers. Not to mention difficult to comprehend. This parallel world of air travel is free from traffic, queues and stress, and it all happens out of sight of the commercial airline buildings. But if you know where to look and what to look for, you can see these terminals, and increasingly their architecture is getting louder.....Continue Reading

> via Telegraph