By Curtis Fentress, Principal-in-Charge of Design, Fentress Architects

I recently flew from San Francisco to Hong Kong with my wife for a business trip. We arrived on December 24, at the peak of the holiday season. The airport was bustling inside…but it was equally busy around it. A cluster of 30- to 50-story residential high-rises built next to it is now called home for about 200,000 people.

I have seen airport cities in various stages of development around the world, from in-planning to rapidly growing. On this trip I experienced two airport cities in varying degrees of reality: Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Songdo International Business District (IBD) at Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea. Destinations in their own right, these airport cities are budding international business centers, offering entertainment, housing and a growing list of amenities.

It’s clear why these airports are maturing into airport cities. They are already global gateways, reaching half the world’s population within a 5-hour flight. They’re relatively new themselves and have been intentionally planned to develop as airport cities, complete with city-like amenities and residences. With intensifying globalisation, their growth is a natural evolution, and a solution for the incredibly dense and expensive land in their neighboring metropolises.

Our Japanese friends, vacationing in Hong Kong two days, chose to live and play at the airport to save time. After dropping their children off at the nearby Disneyland the next morning, they headed to the SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Club for a couple of rounds. Meanwhile my wife and I met with businesspeople at the World Trade Centre at the airport. That night, we shared a 24-minute Airport Express/Metro ride with our friends to dine in downtown Hong Kong, listening and laughing to their golf adventures. As we approached, with every building aglow in Christmas lights, the city sparkled with a surreal quality.

After dinner we returned to our room at the Novotel CityGate, our friends eager to hit the green the next morning.  Their children were even more excited to play at Ocean Park. We extended warm goodbyes and flew to Vietnam for a couple of days, where we explored a country rich in culture and ripe for development. Next stop: Songdo IBD.

Having designed the passenger terminal at Incheon, which opened in 2001, I always enjoy visiting or even just flying through to see a traditional Korean dance or a new exhibit at the airport museum. It is the airport officials’ visionary leadership, which infuses the entire airport with the living legend of Korean hospitality, that maintains Incheon’s status as the “world’s best” airport.

I was delighted to learn that the train extension to downtown Seoul had just opened, with only a 35-minute ride to the city center, where a bag drop service is offered. Songdo isn’t as developed as Hong Kong’s airport city yet, and it’s a distance from the airport. We took a day off to explore Songdo, finding live/work complexes inspired by Western culture and countless high-rise residential towers. Songdo’s Central Park—a beautiful centerpiece at the city’s heart—was a wonderful respite, but certainly enjoyed much more without December’s bone-chilling wind.

While exploring Hong Kong and Songdo, we saw many cultural and international influences, from a Western coffee shop to a delicious Kimchee lunch spot. Several times I played with the idea of opening an office in Songdo to take advantage of the tax free zone. It’s clear what draws people and international companies to airport cities—quick global access, a network of international businesspeople, and great tax breaks! I imagined what it would be like to design a convention center, office tower or hotel here, and what cultural influences would shape the lines and rhythm of its architecture.

Airport cities signal a new paradigm shift to a global live/work/play lifestyle, with oceanfront homes, international schools, cutting-edge healthcare, and an abundance of cultural riches, from museums and orchestra halls to gallery districts and artist residences. These cities of the future, “Sky Cities,” will be measured by their amenities and global accessibility—their relationship to the entire world.