THE RESULTS ARE IN!

After reviewing 200 innovative student submissions from around the world, Fentress Architects is excited to announce the winning designs for the 2011 Fentress Global Challenge, an international competition that invited students to present their vision for the Airport of the Future.

Expert jury members narrowed down the submittals to 16 finalists, then down to the top three, plus two honorable mentions.

1st Prize: LDN Delta

2nd Prize: Airport of the Future

3rd Prize: Pocket Airports

The competition showcased imagined possibilities in airport design. Participants were encouraged to explore the topic in a variety of ways and to integrate concepts of urbanization; globalization; innovations in materials, technologies, aesthetics, flexibility, security, adaptability; and traveler experience from “curbside to airside.” There were no restrictions on site, program or size. The objective was to maximize the ability of participants to propose imaginative conceptual design ideas for the Airport of the Future.

Entries were creative and thought provoking. As noted by final jury member, Marvin Malecha, FAIA, Dean of the College of Design, North Carolina State University:

“The projects for recognition that follow demonstrate comprehensive and thought provoking ideas about the future of air travel. These projects speculate on the passenger experience as well as the pace of the airport in the city and the environmental implications of future construction. There is no reason why these spirited ideas should be held in abeyance for a distant future. The essential reason to conduct a competition on future scenarios is to begin the journey toward a better future today.”

Top design concepts will be exhibited in the Airport of the Future section of the international touring exhibition Now Boarding: Fentress Airports + The Architecture of Flight, which will offer a multi-media immersion into the past, present and future of airport design. It will debut at the Denver Art Museum in July 2012, and will travel internationally through 2015. More information about the exhibition is available at www.nowboarding.org.

A special thanks to the expert final jury:

AWARDED DESIGNS

1^st Prize - LDN Delta Airport

Oliver Andrew
London South Bank University, London

Watch Digital Presentation

“AN INNOVATIVE AIRPORT - A FUTURE AIRPORT - AN AIRPORT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS”
The LDN Delta Airport is designed as prefabricated, mass-produced islands situated in the Thames Estuary, upstream from London. The airport would ease the overcrowding of the surrounding airports as there are no cars, runways nor check-in desks, but is served solely via public transportation. Flight information is connected through passengers' cell phones, providing the departure time and assigned gate. The airport supports vertical takeoff with hypersonic jets capable of flying at the edge of space, lifting off from purpose-built landing pads and uses the tidal currents to run on total sustainable power.

JURY COMMENTS

“This airport proposed two vital elements: unmanned aerial vehicle elements, since future aircraft will rely heavily on technology to control airline cost, and vertical takeoff and landing capability, which reduce the airport landmass footprint,” -Acree

“This student's creative approach captured challenging elements necessary for a successful airport of the future, including multimodal consideration, environmentalism, and social concerns,” -Fentress

“LDN Delta Airport takes into consideration new technologies with the use of GPS and smart phone technology. It connects to land through public transport – good for inter-modality and for the environment, as less people are using their cars,” -Norman

“The connection to a meditation landscape to ease the tensions of travelers is exactly what is needed. The flotation devices solve a combination of environmental and urban design concerns that is reflected in the design,” —Malecha

“The LDN Delta Airport demonstrates innovative and ecological solutions all combined with human scale and user delight in an urban setting,” —Cramer

A WORD FROM OLIVER ANDREW, FENTRESS GLOBAL CHALLENGE WINNER

“Taking part in this competition has been fantastic from the moment I read the brief, to the moment I put pencil to paper. I spent many long nights sketching and thinking the concept through, in order to create something innovative and revolutionary in airport design. My concept goes beyond today's airport design to propose a pioneering ecological solution for the future,” said Oliver. “A competition at this level is a real honor. I look forward to working with everyone at Fentress Architects.”

2^nd Prize - The Airport of the Future, Los Angeles, California

Martin Sztyk
University College London, London

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This proposal for the Airport of the Future is self-sustaining through the use of algae grown in nearby farms as a renewable resource. The architecture of the Airport of the Future is experiential as it intends to be a destination in itself. The future of airships and non-atmospheric flight intersects with runways, tarmacs, trains, highways and the conventional infrastructure of Los Angeles.

JURY COMMENTS

“The airport of the future shows how a self-sustaining concept can become ubiquitous with broad implications for seaside developments,” —Cramer

“This is a strong scheme with vital emotional and intellectual connections to the land. The drawings present an elegant structure that has the ability to grow and change; open spaces complement architecture that seems to sit easily on its landscape,” —Malecha

3^rd Prize - Pocket Airports

Alexander Nevarez
Art Center College of Design, United States

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Dreamers and innovators that look far beyond the present have always held the future in such high esteem. It is this optimism that propels ideas into the blue sky for the sake of imagining what is possible given the resources and technology.

JURY COMMENTS

“The airport uses existing infrastructure within a city for the airport. This could be a good approach where cities have a lot of derelict buildings, as it encourages regeneration,” —Norman

“This scheme resurrects the images of the era of airships with masts rising from the city mooring the great machines with all of the romance that travel should imply. The integration of travel into an urban grid is a concept with great appeal that recalls the arrival of the train into the core of the city,” —Malecha

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Aero Loop

Thor Yi Chun
University of Science of Malaysia, Malaysia

New Arcticity

Daniel Kang
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan