They’re the airports with designs born from soaring imaginations, six hubs that according to a prestigious architecture award are the most eye-catching on the planet.
And two are in the US.
Portland International Airport Main Terminal and San Francisco International Airport Terminal 1 both make the Unesco Prix Versailles competition’s World’s Most Beautiful Airports List 2025.
The judges describe Portland’s new Main Terminal, designed by Oregon’s ZGF, as “spectacular”.
They explain that the terminal was “inspired by walks in the forest, resulting in a calming, immersive experience for travelers”.
They continue: “The star of the project is its undulating mass timber roof, extending over more than 387,500ft, which celebrates Oregon’s history of forest product innovation.”
It’s explained that the materials employed were sourced from local industry within a 310-mile radius of the airport, with a “forest to frame” system created to track as much of the wood as possible back to its forest of origin.
Prix Versailles adds: “The spectacularly scaled structure promotes access to natural light and views of the forested landscape. A resplendently staged renovation that is both sustainable and functional.”
San Francisco Airport’s new Terminal 1, meanwhile, is described as a “soothing, restorative setting for travelers”, with “soft natural light filtering through to entry level” and “architecture that unfurls in a celebration of arts and crafts that reflect the unique character of the Bay Area”.
Prix Versailles adds: “In fact, the airport is becoming a real cultural destination with the SFO Museum, the world’s only accredited museum at an airport, allowing more robust exhibits and art to be shared throughout the terminals.”
Also making the list is Kansai International Airport Terminal 1 in Osaka, Japan. Originally designed 30 years ago by Renzo Piano on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, its interior spaces have now been “reinvigorated” and a smart queue management system installed.
The judges add: “The terminal’s successful reopening, in time for the 2025 World Expo, honours the history of an extraordinary site.”
Marseille Provence Airport Terminal 1, designed by Foster + Partners, also makes the cut thanks to an extension comprising a window-lined hall with a grid of skylights that “conveys peace and relaxation”.
Prix Versailles adds: “Glass façades provide for maximum transparency, with views of Provençal hinterland on the one side and a maritime lagoon on the other, in a wonderful blend of hospitality and style.”
The other two airports on the list are Yantai Penglai International Airport Terminal 2 in China, where “natural light permeates the entire terminal”, and Roland Garros Airport Arrivals Terminal on Reunion Island.
This “tropical bioclimatic airport” has a central “canyon” that acts as a thermal chimney, louvred shutters connected to sensors that adjust their angles in response to changing weather conditions and an interior that’s a “sensory journey” for travelers thanks to “extensive use of wood and native vegetation in a living expression of the island’s landscape and culture”.
The Secretary General of the Prix Versailles, Jérôme Gouadain, emphasises the footprint of these new projects: “The mark left by airports stems chiefly from their ever-growing role in international exchanges. As a result, this infrastructure must resolve formidable difficulties in terms of flow management and the aircraft themselves.
“But this new brand of facilities can also be seen as works of art, or at least as things of beauty. In fact, we should strive to make this happen, given their inescapability in our built environments and our landscapes.
“Orientated towards operational, ecological and aesthetic excellence, these hubs also convey shared values, culture or even a tribute to the past, out of respect for the legacies left behind by earlier generations. In the light of the planetary challenges facing us today, it is time for these expressive images of our contemporary heritage to be asserted as symbols of humankind’s internal dialogue.”
The six most beautiful airports in the world for 2025
- Yantai Penglai International Airport, Terminal 2, Yantai, China
- Marseille Provence Airport, Terminal 1, Marignane, France
- Roland Garros Airport, Arrivals Terminal, Réunion Island, France
- Kansai International Airport, Terminal 1, Osaka, Japan
- Portland International Airport, Main Terminal, Portland, US
- San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 1, San Francisco, US