TWA Flight Center, Airport terminal at JFK International Airport, Queens, US
The TWA Flight Center is a former airport terminal at JFK in Queens, now operating as a hotel. The concrete roof curves like a wing and rests on Y-shaped supports, while tall glass panels flood the interior with natural light.
Eero Saarinen designed the building between 1959 and 1962 for Trans World Airlines. After decades as an active terminal, it reopened in 2019 as part of a hotel and is now protected as a historic site.
Completed in 1962, the building embodies the postwar belief in progress and the excitement of jet travel. Its swooping roofline suggests a bird in flight, meant to make passengers feel they were entering a new era of aviation.
Visitors can enter through the hotel lobby or via walkways connecting to the rest of the airport. Public areas on the ground floor are open to all, including the main hall with its curved interior and several restaurants.
The roof is made of concrete only 4 inches (10 cm) thick, spanning large distances without any visible supports in the center. The entire structure conveys a sense of lightness despite being built from concrete.
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