When architecture and aviation combine At its worst, airport design is a confusing blend of bad carpeting and claustrophobic paneling that can leave you searching for hours for a bathroom. But a new class of airports are leaving the dark terminals of the past behind, opting instead for light-filled spaces that provide both function and inspiration.
High-design airports are now scattered throughout the world, with big-time design firms like Foster + Partners, SOM, and Grimshaw tackling head-on the challenge of moving millions of people through spaces that need to be more secure than ever.
And the trend of better airport architecture isn?t slowing. Huge airport projects currently under construction?like Beijing?s Daxing International Airport boasting a Zaha Hadid-designed terminal?and those in U.S. cities like New Orleans, Tampa, Orlando, and Los Angeles will showcase upgraded and modernized designs. To see just where airport design is headed, we?ve rounded up the 12 most beautiful airports currently operating around the world. From Denver to Mumbai to Osaka, this is architecture taken to new heights.
Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport

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The terminal of Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Located in the capital of Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev International Airport terminal features giant wooden cocoons designed by Turkish architecture studio Autoban.
Light streams in through the concave external glass walls, and e...