Very similar vibes to the mothballed TWA terminal at JFK, and a lot of the same problems: beautifully architected indoor spaces which are way too small to accommodate the large numbers of people needing to pass through (or wait at) a modern airport, not enough internal separation to facilitate current security needs, and tons of open staircases everywhere— basically zero ability to comply with ADA or even fire regs.
A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
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Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#32It kinda looks like MCI in Kansas City taken to the extreme.
MCI is the best airport. Walk from plane to car in 3 minutes. Politicians want to destroy it for tax revenue.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#33If you liked the photos, you might also enjoy this site about abandoned buildings in Japan: https://haikyo.org/
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#34That is a hideously ugly building. It doesn't say "city of the future" to me, as the author seems to suggest, but city of the past. And not the glorious past or the beautiful past, but a period of architecture dominated by harsh lines, masses of exposed concrete, and the idea of architecture expressing domination over the land and over the people who used it. Brutalism, here in the UK, is largely seen as an ugly mist…
That's likely subjective, as I think it's extremely aesthetically pleasing - I've always seen Brutalism as having strong links with the Bauhaus style, something else I have high regard for.
I won't argue with your city of the past argument as I'm not sure I'd term it as the dominant architecture of a city of the future, but I think it definitely has a place. I would argue against Brutalism expressing domination over people - I've always seen it more as expressing function in form, which would be the opposite. Given it's close ties to Soviet architecture I can see how a lot of the buildings built in the style would have literally been used for the oppression of individual will, however.
Also, with regards to it's opinion in the UK and worldwide, Brutalism is experiencing something of a revival:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/t-magazine/design/brutali...
https://www.europeanceo.com/lifestyle/brutalisms-message-may...
https://houseandhome.com/decorating-design/brutalism-revival...
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#35Luxury and Soviet Era really don't go together. See Berlin Schönefeld for an example.
Never been to Schönefeld, but even Tegel is a bit of a disgrace for the main airport of the German capital. There's always Berlin Brandenburg, which should open any day now.[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg_Airport
It blows my mind how far behind schedule BER is. According to Wikipedia, construction started in 2006 and was scheduled to complete in October 2011 (aka about 5 years was allocated for construction). It's now almost October 2018. We're now 7 YEARS past the originally scheduled completion date. It's claimed that the airport won't open until Fall 2020. That means the airport won't open until at least 9 years past the original opening date. If that happens, construction will have taken 14 years when it was originally scheduled to take 5 years.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#36It looks really nice, but this picture is revealing: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1/2018/09/19/16/4396738-6185497-im... The bit on the left, I assume, is the modern terminal. Notice the scale. The old building is small, for modern use. If it gets preserved, they must find a way to generate some additional income, because it's probably too obsolete to do that as an actual airport.
I would be very surprised if refurbishing it and adding more modern terminals is more expensive than a new airport. Just the process of figuring out what to build and how you're going to build it costs a lot.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#37Luxury and Soviet Era really don't go together. See Berlin Schönefeld for an example.
Never been to Schönefeld, but even Tegel is a bit of a disgrace for the main airport of the German capital. There's always Berlin Brandenburg, which should open any day now.[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg_Airport
-In Tegel's defense, it was built when area was definitely at a premium, seeing as it was in former West Berlin which simply didn't have the luxury of expanding into the surrounding farmland.
The other West Berlin Airport - Tempelhof - was marvellous, though. Built during Weimar Republic years when air travel was for the wealthy few, the terminal was (and is!) as monumental as a palace.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#38Luxury and Soviet Era really don't go together. See Berlin Schönefeld for an example.
You've clearly never been on the Moscow or St. Petersburg Metro. They're astonishingly beautiful.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#39As a westerner living in Russia, I love seeing all the old soviet stuff (despite the dark history). Ok, maybe not the soviet apartment blocks. But many of the statues and brutalist structures are very unique and I truly hope they're preserved. None of the new construction here is nearly as interesting.
Re: A Soviet-era airport, once the height of luxury, faces demolition in Armenia
#40If you enjoy seeing old soviet architecture in disarray (and other curiosities) you may want to check out http://englishrussia.com/