TXL. Berlin Tegel Airport

Description

Berlin Tegel TXL is an icon of modern architecture. With the striking hexagonal shape of the main terminal building and its concept of check-in counters right at each gate, Tegel has made air travel history. Berliners are passionately nostalgic about Tegel, since it served as the window to the wider world for the once-isolated West Berlin. At the same time, this airport represents the start of architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners’ (gmp) success story. Together with Klaus Nickels, the recently graduated Hamburg architects won the 1965 competition for building the new airport, which opened in 1974.
 
This book celebrates TXL’s whole story and glory. Numerous historical and contemporary photos, together with plans and drawings from gmp’s archive show off Tegel’s vibrant color scheme, overall design, and structural details down to the check-in counters with their rounded edges. Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg provide a detailed account of this early commission, and the book includes an essay by Jürgen Tietz on the specific qualities of this unique air terminal and its historical significance.
 
The first and definitive building monograph on Berlin’s iconic Tegel Airport shows this architectural icon in its original appearance, without later alterations and additions. Richly illustrated with previously unpublished images, TXL. Berlin Tegel Airport traces the history of Tegel’s construction and forty-five years of operations.