The sustainable airport is the catalyst for the airport city. International experience and a reputation for excellence have positioned Fentress Architects as a leading developer of sustainable airport design and one that has helped the evolution of the airport into the airport city.

Fentress has been designing airports for the last two decades, which taken together, operate as a collection with each new design solution building upon the solid foundation of those before it.

The firm's philosophy - the Touchstones of DesignÔäó - emphasises the importance of innovation in the design of sustainable airport cities.

Over the past 20 years, Fentress has recognised four common elements evident in its own evolution of sustainable airport designs that generate the airport city - technological, global, environmental and programmatic:

   -Technology applies to the planning, buildings, airspace management and infrastructure.

   -Global relates to economic, operational and political structures.

   -Environmental components relate to air, water, site, energy and material, as well as social issues.

   -Programmatic components break into long-term planning and function, which ranges from transit and housing to retail, hospitality and cultural elements.

Fentress also addresses three integral characteristics in the planning process: adaptability, to preserve existing infrastructure while allowing change in response to a redefined programme; flexibility, to allow spaces to serve multiple uses with minimal investment of capital or labour; and expandability, to accommodate for painless future growth.

Airports today, and in the future, are becoming more than just entry and exit points of a city or state. They can be a valuable addition to the city's infrastructure and serve to stimulate the local and regional industries and become a powerful economic engine in their own right.

The sustainable airport is at the heart of the airport city, or aerotropolis. Amenities and developments commonly include hotels, convention and exhibition centres, residences, commercial offices, industrial parks, restaurants, shopping centres and cultural/entertainment attractions.

A future Destination

Airport cities generate new non-aeronautical revenue sources; both to stay competitive and to better serve their traditional aviation functions.

The primary purpose of airport cities in the future will be to provide a full-range of business and hospitality services to help the gateway compete in the global economy while maintaining a sound and sustainable public mission.

The airport of the future will be measured by its relationship to the rest of the world - its global accessibility and its amenities.

Fentress' designers have engaged in the development and implementation of elements embracing the airport city in over 90 airport designs and competitions, including those for Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Doha, Madrid, New York's JFK Airport, Bangkok and Vienna.

Fentress' extensive portfolio sets the precedent for the design of the airport city as a destination that spurs economic growth by both creating and embracing a sense of place.

The firm continues to refine the ideals of the airport city prototype globally through its understanding of the past, extensive experience with sustainable strategies and technologies, and a design philosophy that fosters timeless architecture.