I’m a big fan of airports. Not just because when I am in one of them it means I am traveling somewhere (which I love). I enjoy them for their look and feel. For their vibrant mood suggesting a humanity on the move, of cultures intermixing. This is especially the case when an airport is well-designed. Think of the United Airlines terminal in Chicago’s O’Hare airport. The gaping spaces above, the jazzled (new word) multicolored lights overhead as you cruise through the people mover, the broad terminal halls. It’s a lovely airport that fills you with zeal and appreciation and gladness to be alive in the 21st century. Or at least, that’s how I feel about it
Well, apparently a new airport terminal in Madrid’s Barajas International Airport, has got a lot of people talking. It, too has dazzling lofty light filled halls where passengers come and go. And it’s look is so new and appealing that it recently won a major award. Saturday m the terminal was honored with the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize, Britain’s most prestigious architecture award. The building was designed by Richard Rogers and cost $7.2 billion. It is said to double the size of the Spanish capital’s main airport when it opened in February. I have not seen it yet, but as I perused some photos of the new terminal, I decided that the next time I’m in Spain, I’m going to make a special trip to check it out.