ABSTRACT
The architecture of airports reflects the international flavour of modern air travel. There is a sense of technological bravado balanced by national pride in airport design. Countries like to express a modern efficient image through the vehicle of national airports in general and the terminal buildings in particular. While the aircraft are the same, whether in Asia, Europe or North America, the individual terminals often retain something of local cultural identity. The internationalism of air transportation is invariably tempered by regional characteristics in the design of terminals themselves. This is occasionally the
result of climate, and sometimes of the traditions of building in a particular area, but often of the sense that airports are great national gateways, where cultural differences have to be expressed. The comparison between London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle shows how far national characteristics can infuse airport design. While the first is a collection of disjointed terminal buildings set within an apparently haphazard masterplan, the latter is grandly conceived, beautifully executed and infused with Gallic pomp.
