The reformation of Hellinikon, former international airport of Athens

Abstract: “Airports and air-fields have always held a special magic, gateways to the infinite possibilities that only the sky can offer.” - J.G. Ballard Man has dedicated large amounts of time and resources to construct airports. Mountains have been moved, new islands made in the sea, and vast swaths of land have been cleared all to make the dream of flight possible. The large scale building of international airports and the efforts and investment to make them possible will continue for the foreseeable future as air passenger numbers continue to rise. But what happens when the airport is not used anymore? The default answer seems to be to clear the site and redevelop on a tabula rasa. The history of the site is ignored and the building stock and infrastructure carelessly demolished to make way for new development. While designers have explored the idea of reusing post-industrial landscapes like steel plants while preserving their infrastructure, not much thought has been given to the post-airport condition. The re-use of airports presents unique issues because of their economic importance, role as transportation and infrastructure hubs, enormous buildings, substantial infrastructure and vast spaces. The current pattern of completely wiping away the airport and starting over from scratch is broken. The airport requires special attention and consideration from designers in order to successfully deal with the aforementioned issues.