A new sort of airport 21

Norman Payne affects abrasive scepticism where Norman Foster likes to show a pair of slides which
aesthetics are concerned. Architects, he says, are illustrate the impact of his new terminal on the lan dsca pe.
facilitators: "the passengers pay, not the architects. One is a photo montage, made early on in the design
Architects don't have to actually deal with the public at process. The other shows the completed building (which
all. Our customers care above all about efficiency and stands on a rise in the land) from the same viewpoint, a
~
cl~anliness, not architectural details." But he has firm mile away. The two views are, of course, all but identical.
opinions as to which airports function well and look Stansted is, says Foster, "rooted in the ecology of the area".
good: Newark ("underrated"), Chicago's O'Hare(" ... but It is a "green" building, he argues, "but not in a hair-shirt
difficult to clean"). the recent extensions at Los Angeles, way - it's a celebratory structure."
Cincinnatti, Singapore, Frankfurt and Paris's Charles de Late in 1979 it became clear that BAA had broad
Gaulle do not, on the other hand, inspire his admiration. Government support for its renewed plans to develop
The alliance of the two Normans was to be a potent one. Stansted. Nonetheless, a full-scale public inquiry was set
The momentous election year of 1979 marked the up, what Norman Foster considered just another instance
beginning of Stansted's recent history. Government of the sort of bureaucratic delays which obstruct many
research had confirmed BAA's view that a third airport was serious building projects in the UK. Only in June 1985, did
still a necessity. The 1970s energy scare was over and air the Government announce that it would approve BAA's
travel was again booming. There was also growing concern planning application. After two decades of talk, London
about London's place in a new Europe. If London's airports was to get its third airport. Initially, however, Stansted was
became intolerably congested, would long-haul travellers only given approval to develop for half the number of the
switch to Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt instead? As passengers originally envisaged by BAA. A further phase
France laid down her TGV express rail network and the would have to go back for parliamentary approval.
prospect of a Channel Tunnel moved from fantasy to "We'd known for years", says Norman Payne, "that the
possibility, this prospect became seriously worrying. The ideal airport terminal was a large open space on one level
pressure was on again to site the new airport in Essex. - like the Olympia exhibition hall, say. The advantages
 Norman Foster and the architecture.of flight
22

were clear, but the bitter fact is that one-level terminals Fast Associates' brief was rooted in BAA's stated
need a lot of space." At Stansted, he explains, in contrast to objectives a more convenient, safer terminal for travellers;
Heathrow and even Gatwick, that space existed. It was the a apta 1Ity; the possibility of phased construction (an
ideal place to build the one-level terminal of the future. objective which subsequently became a vital condition);
Fresh from the Hong Kong Bank, Spencer de Grey the ability to accommodate the largest aircraft of the
became Foster Associates' project director at Stansted. foreseeable future - up to 800 seats; and lastly economy.
His version of events differs somewhat from that of This final requirement reflected the high cost of BAA's
Norman Payne's. The various options that the architects recent projects: proportionally, Stansted had to be at least
were initially given by BAA were all, he insists, based on 10 per cent cheaper. Norman Payne never seems to have
the idea of a multi-level terminal. "The architects", doubted that Foster Associates were ideally qualified to
says de Grey, "fought for the one-level format." Norman meet the formula of economy and innovation. Together
Foster is even more adamant. "From the very beginning", client and architect planned a unique monument.
Foster says, "we felt that a single level was the only way. If the needs of the travelling public rated high in
We sold the idea to BAA." Yet the acceptance of the idea the design brief, the requirements of the airl ines could
by the clients, the architects say, suggests that Norman hardly be a secondary consideration. Some favoured the
Payne saw its logic and had independently come to the detached "unit" terminals familiar from New York's JFK
conclusion that a one-level building was the right and Paris's Charles de Gaulle airports. Ano th er approac~,
course at Stansted. more familiar in Britain, would have been th e con~truction
. · I nd leading to
The idea of a single level was hardly new, although the of piers radiating from the main termina a
implications, especially for servicing, had not been fully h. h leads to the
gates. But it is this arrangement w ic . f
"dors typIca o
1

worked out. YRM, overall architects at Gatwick since the lengthy treks through passages an d corn b.
·d a of mo I 1e
mid-fifties, had considered this possibility for the North Heathrow. It was rejected, as wast he I e to-
I to Foster (lounge-
Terminal (begun 1983), but quickly ruled it out in favour lou nges, which·held some appea . . n used
) Th .d transit opt10 ,
of a three-storey building because of the constricted site. airport in one easy move . e rapi
---- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- A new sort of airport 23

at Gatwick for the first time outside the USA, was she was able to exercise a considerable amount of
chosen (and subsequently commissioned from American architectural patronage. Her memories of BAA
manufacturers Westinghouse). In due course, it was ("compared with BR, a relatively small business ...
decided to build four satellites to cater for the full very responsive to managerial initiatives") help to
(15 million) passenger projection, with two satellites explain the genesis of the Stansted idea.
required in the initial phase of operations. In the event, Norman Payne recalls: ·"! wanted to know from the
only two satellites were commissioned, with the second start how it would look after five years. We all know that
scheduled for 1994 and others following when the airport buildings have to change - something always has to be
expanded to its full capacity around 1996. changed or adjusted, and it's the job of those who manage
Even in the early eighties it was clear that Stansted them to adjust things to people's needs." Norman Foster
would be a new sort of airport. BAA had created a was equally aware from the start that airports are now
workable airport at Gatwick, and an above-average "discount shopping centres on a grand scale, with the
building in the shape of North Terminal there. On the emphasis on emptying your pockets, rather than charging
other hand, even Norman Payne now admits that you with the thrill of travel - a sad comparison with the
Heathrow 4 (opened 1986; architects: Scott, Brownrigg, great train stations of the railway age."
Turner) had been something of a disappointment.Jane Stansted, complete and in operation, is undoubtedly
Priestman, who was design director at BAA at the time one of the great achievements of late twentieth-century
of the Foster commission, says that appointing Foster was British architecture, and in fact, the only major doubts
"very much the chairman's decision''. Payne, she continues, which still persist concern the nature of Stansted's shops:
"had the vision of it: a simple, sensitive building. Terminal 4 Have both Normans lost the battle against the shops?
had been a disappointment - there was a great pressure to Should the solution (and the brief) not have conceded
produce something excellent." that an airport is a "discount shopping centre"? How
Priestman, of course, later moved on to become the much of Stansted's exhilarating open spaces will remain
Director of Architecture and Design at British Rail, where in a decade's time?
26
=-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Norman Foster and th .
- _ . : _ :-=-:::e~a~rcl:11h1tectureoff1•
9ht
1

Norman Foster praises Stansted as "a symbol of foresight

Stansted, like so manyofo ur proJ·ects t .
and prior investment". Perhaps there is an element of . , s rives for the
analogue experience."
irony in that comment in view of the many years of delay
The formula "calm, clarity, and convenience" was
before development of the airport began. However,
established early in Foster's work on the project. Norman
Foster's respect for Sir Norman Payne of BAA is genuine:
Foster's own preliminary sketches show a pavilion-like
"BAA has been engineering-led under his chairmanship ~ g i n which the principle of movemen~
and that counts for a lot." For everyone involved in the There are hints, perhaps, of Mies's National Gallery
project, Payne was the dient: the man who backed the in Berlin - a glass box on a podium - and ofS0M's
originality of it and made it happen. extraordinary fabric-roofed Haj airport at Jeddah [1981).
Foster's personal passion for flying is well-known. Even in the early sketches, the roof has an ethereal,
Ultimately it has not, he says, influenced Stansted more undulating quality - suggesting fabric rather than a
than any other of his buildings, but Foster's early sketches more solid material - although it was to be !hree years
for the project underline his interest in "going back to before the character of the domes was fina lised. FoSter's
basics''. "We drew inspiration from the early days of flying Stansted was to be, indeed, a pavilion in th e la ndscape,
when airfields were very simple affairs. There was always more dynamic than M1ess • , . permanent than
Ber 1in, more
a clear airside and landside so you were never in any SOM'sJeddah. h ncept
doubt where you were." Foster compares many recent Norman Payne comments : "Foster took: eco
. nvent1onal as a
airports to digital watches: as far as he is concerned, both and developed it - what 1s moSt unco . that
'blt
are poor communicators. "More and more buildings today result is the high degree offlexi 11 y." It 15clear •sown
. h· ment of Payne
are digital. To navigate, say, the Barbican, La Defense, or Stansted is the crowning ac ieve . ortofthe
. 'd al of the a1rp
most big shopping centres - or international airports - career at BAA, and his own e I
i·sed without
h e been rea i
is a challenge to mind and body. Digital buildings, with future. But it wou Id never av de his first
their total dependence on signage and numerical codes, Norman Foster. Indeed, w hen Fosterfma w months after
are not really very good at telling you where you are. presentation to BAA ·in April 1981 ' a e
 A pavilion in the landscape 29

~~
idea of a well-,;erviced sh ed is inherent in all J oster's
Height. Throughout the process of construction, the
Group met at quarterly intervals, mostly on-site and
- ---
architecture from IBM at Cosham to the mid-eighties IBM
with Sir Norman Payne present, to monitor and comment Greenford via Sainsbury Centre and Willis Faber at Ipswich.
on Foster's proposals. The meetings were usually cordial, But there .had been nothing on the scale of Stansted, nor -
the architects recall, with any serious disagreements apart from Renault, Swindon - anything as expressive
having been thrashed out in advance. Only once was there [save, of course, the Hong Kong Bank). But the bank had
a real confrontation - over Pentagram's novel system of received publicity in Britain for reasons other than its
signage - and then Norman Payne was simply adamant architectural inventiveness. IBM Greenford had been a
that the proposals were to be rejected. notable model of economy and had [Foster believes)
The only planning constraint on the project, in effect, influenced BAA's choice of architect. The supposedly
was the size of the site - between the runway and the high cost of the Hong Kong Bank - which the press had
southern boundary of the airport. However, there were dubbed "the most expensive building in history" - could
major issues to be decided as to how the site should be have become a problem for Foster, although intelligent
used, including the provision of car-parking and the critics recognised that exceptional buildings do not come
location of the rail link. At Gatwick, the station had been cheap. Creating a major building that was also notably
set apart from the airport and given its own identity. economical to build could do the firm no harm at al l.
There was a danger that Stansted's station would again Early on in the planning process, a structural grid
become a separate British Rail project. Spencer de Grey of 36 metres was laid down and the architects began to
explains that the architects wanted to give every activity consider how the services could be integrated into the
a clearly defined zone within which it could "breathe" - structural system. The idea of the "trees", or a cluster
road and rail links had to be rigorously subjected to an of columns, emerged quite early on, but in itially, the air-
overall geometry. conditioning plant was to sit on the roof, and this
With the basic shape of the building agreed, the idea would have required a far beefier structure than the one
had to be turned into a reality which could be built. The eventually adopted. The "trees", as they became known ,
----- - A pavilion in the landscape
The Renault Centre - th e first
of a series of buildings which
31

used lightweight steel to creat e

a flexibl e, open building with an
expressed structure
I

_ h f" . . ,. : ,:·..;lJI.,;
,
:-,:_;t· \:J't' ..:.. :-, ...\ .
>'
1

.I .. ,-,, : ·,. <i \ .·- \ ,\'· • • ·,,.,·\· ~

·.,
would have become substantial objects, and potential Plan and section were developed in tandem . The
obstacles to passenger circulation . The element of "clarity", element of "clarity" - keeping the buildin g simple in form -
identified by Foster as an essential characteristic, already was never compromised . Transparency and a feeling of
looked compromised. The services, it was clear, would direction were associated_g_ual ities. Aft er long discussions
have to be kept under control. with BAA's technica l staff, it was establ ished that the
The height of the building was a critical factor. The servi~ d beJo..YY., t ~ oncou...[se, although
typical ~course was about 6 to 9 metres from floor their exact location was undecided. The arc hitects were
to ceiling, but Foster Associates favoured something far keen to keep them within the ma in "box" and to avoid
higher. Existing terminals were often a series of small subsidiary structures.
rooms; Stansted on the other hand, was to be one vast The nature of the roof would dictate the form of the
room - an internal height of not less than 12 metres members supporting it. Fosters worked inten sively with
was vital if the interior was not to look oppressively low. structural engineers from Ove rnp & Par,Qers_to find
At the same time, bulk and landscape impact remained the ideal form . As lig htwei ght s~ uc..ture s!..§_yed by
asignificant issue as the final planning inquiry loomed. ' j ension rodf,Stansted followed a progression of sim il ar
The solution was, of course, to invert the traditional Fo~dir:19--s,most n0ta bly the S,'tillJdon Renault
approach and I ~ the services not on the roof but in It_ntr@-r:C_;Qm.P~ ~ 98 2.and at advanced design
t~ In this way, although its final character stage when Stansted was fi rst consid ered by the office.
remained unresolved, the roof itself could be made far Renault marked a new directi on for Foster - a break
less heavy · f
~ in orm - and the structural system could be with the smoothed-off Miesian box an d a step in th e
altogether r ht .
L~ er. All this took some time to resolve. direction of the romantic Moderni sm associated wi t h
oren-Butt who b . fl d'
d · ne Y Irected the project in its earliest Foster's former partner, Richard Rogers. Working wi th
ays, before Spencer de Grey returned from Hong Kong Martin Manning of Arups, who was to be Arups' project
recalls that "it . . '
went b was not until 1982, in fact, that the services director for Stansted, Foster Associates created a
eIow ground." structurally expressive, high ly fl exi ble bu il din g based
 A pavilion in the landscape 33

OA~a~ metre~quare gricrThe 6uilaing was designed to The building seizes the advantages of its setting. "It's a
co f11giolarg.e..areas-DLra.Gk~d-sto rage fl)rpc1·r-t-s-an0-a-hi-g h- building on a hill_: optimise", wrote Norman Foster on
~OJl'.l.r-1:!sifl~ted, cable-stayed structure one of his early sketches. No taller than the average forest
wa-.s.aJLOb~j.011s tactic In the design of the roof structure - tree, the building straddles a natural ridge so that the
a series of fabricated steel "umbrellas" incorporating roof passenger walking in at road level is at first-floor level by
l[ghts- Renault prefigures Stansted. At Renault, however, the time he reaches the departure lounge - the main
the "umbrellas" are suspended from the masts; the terminal floor is thus at a convenient level for the transit
structural system had been influenced by Arup's work on system serving the satellites. The airside road, which
the Birmingham Exhibition Centre. Stansted's "domes", serves the baggage hall, is at basement level.
a concept really developed during 1984, grow of out the The public inquiry of 1982-83 lasted 258 days. It did
"trees". The structural concept of Stansted is really very not consider architectural details, though the general
simple and very obvious (in marked contrast to earlier shape and layout of the terminal was known. During
terminal buildings at Gatwick and Heathrow). but only 1982, work at Foster Associates on Stansted slowed
emerged in its final form after a long process of discussion down dramatically, although the is~ue of locating the
and refinemen(. lt is based on the good Victorian rinci le services was finally- and dramatically - resolved. The
of can · eve red supports hold in - s. The design formula existed, but only in February 1984, did
aim was to secure, alongside a striking architectural effect, detailed work begin in the office: the Stansted project
economy and ease of construction. had "taken off'. Norman Foster's presentation to BAA on
. If Stansted is, indeed, a "pavilion in the landscape''. , that the 8th of that month marked the start of the detailed
image is strengthened by the way the building is dug into design process. Foster developed the crucial idea of
its setting. The _s_ar-parks, entirely at surface level, were "transparency": "I am not suggesting necessarily that
eventually depressed below the forecourt level with access this is a building which is completely enclosed all the
to the building at lower level; the terminal therefore sits in way round with glass and is transparent all the way
a green setting rather than floating in a sea of asphalt. round," he commented [the transcription is the office's .. . ].
 Nor man Fos ter and th e arch .itect Ure Of Oight

34
Lifts, ramps and escalators bring
passengers from the railway station,
coach station and car-park directly
up to the concourse level. The
vthicular drop-off on the forecourt
is at concourse level, beneath the
~ ltering overhang of the grea t roof

Tcrminal canopy
Coach drop- off
Taxi/vehicular
drop- off

,~ -~
~
...•.........• ....•. . . . . . ....
········ · ►

... ····································· . ·············

Britis/!Ra~JUUO"

British Rail statio n

40 Norman Foster and the architecture of flight

a notable downturn in air traffic. But nobody believes contain the services, not only feasible but also extremely
this will be more than a temporary blip in a steadily rising logical. (In fact, with the excavation of the site, the
graph. The building strategy had altered, but the basic natural slope has been increased and now no part of the
principles did not change. completed terminal is actually "underground''. The BAA
When the final scheme went to the local planning planners, says Manning, were hard to convince - a point
committee in February 1986 it was passed in 30 seconds. which Loren Butt reinforces. "At first, they were simply
Spencer de Grey says that he half expected the detailed very inflexible," he says.
planning stages to be used by objectors in their attempts According to Manning, initially there were thoughts
to delay the project - "it would have been a predictable of a cable-hung structure. But whereas Fleetguard and
tactic, but no objections were raised." In the spring of R e n a u ~ i a l l y warehouses, full of goods
1986.BAA was already on site, building the new road rather than people and relatively uninteresting internally,
network. The aim was to start building a year later in an airport was a public building - the traveller should
order to finish on schedule by the end of 1990 and open enjoy something of the structural drama. The structure
the terminal early in 1991. would be contained within the building envelope; in
Martin Manning of Ove Arup & Partners had worked effect it would form the architecture. Very quickly,
with Foster Associates as project director at the Renault thoughts turned towards a "mushroom" structure
Centre, a landmark building for the practice. Arups were supporting the roof - the initial inspiration came from
therefore called in at an early stage of the Stansted Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Building, says Manning.
commission (February 1981) to advise on the feasibility Johnson Wax was one of the buildings which, seen in
of ideas which Norman Foster had already been magazines, had encouraged Norman Foster to train as
developing for the form of the terminal. "The single-level an architect, and had also played a part in the evolution
terminal was very much Norman Foster's choice," says of the Hong Kong Bank design. The next stage was the
Manning, who saw clearly that the slope of the sight concept of the "trees": thirty-six of them growing out of
made a one-level building, with a undercroft below to the structural towers and set at 36-metre intervals. At first,

d
> Raising the roof
41

the trees were to be completely free-standing of the consisted of intersecting barrel vaults, sitting on the
concrete slab floor (of which they are, of course, trees. The idea of the domes ca me from the charismatic
structurally independent, since they sit on the floor engineer, Peter Rice. This solution, linked to prefabricated
of the undercroft), necessitating expansion joints in construction techniques, was to be invaluable in th e
the roof. Using the floor to prop the trees made for a strategy of rapid construction. "We originally wanted
simpler roof solution, minus expansion joints. \the cladding and the structure to be one surface," recalls
The trees are not only the key to the structure of ~Manning. "The clad shells were a comprom ise idea, but
Stansted but also represent a major attraction of the very economical."
building for the client seeking economy and rapid Having created a vast roofscape - at 200 square
co~rurtiao By assembling the basic structure first metres, twice the size of Lord's Cricket Ground - the
and then adding the roof decking, a covered shell was matter of drainage then had to be tackled. The penetration
provided in which the task of casting the terminal floor of the building by a series of downpipes was obviously
and inserting all the other elements of the building could unacceptable. It was equally obvious that the drainage
proceed under cover. This key part of the strategy for system could not utilise the service pods (wh ich do not
Stansted was one of the elements which con vi need BAA touch the roof). What was required was a totally, one-
that the Foster approach was exactly in line with their hundred percent reliable drainage system wh ich would
own requirements. ensure against blocking and flooding. In the end, a
_,_,, The exact form of the trees then had to be decided. syphonic, negative-pressure system of the type wh ich
Manning still feels that the "branches" should perhaps has been widely used in Germany and Scandinavia for
have sprung out from floor level ("like a Christmas tree"). many years was chosen. A total of 121 horizontal pipes,
rather than ·
squatting as they do on 12-metre-high square which run east-west along the roof, feed 16 downpipes
bases. The ne t · . ..
x engineering dec1s1on to be made was the located at each end of the building. All the low-diameter
character of th f .
I. · e roo covering - eventually resolved as (100 mm) pipes are made of stainless steel - the system
I
I 9htweight I tt·
·J a iced domes (18 square metres) which is designed to be low maintenance.
 Norman Foster and the architecture of flight
46

also to the fore: economy, the architects insist, was always daylighting adequate during all daytime hours and
high on the agenda for this job. Double-glazing was artificial lighting essential only after dark. Initially, this was
obviously essential, both for energy conservation and to to be achieved by inserting long, narrow strips of glazing
exclude aircraft noise. As executed, the glazing of the between the panels of the roof. But with the advent of the
concourse is fixed into the concrete floor slab - which tree and dome roof it was possible to incorporate the roof-
has expansion joints- and tied into the roof (which has lights within the main roof modules in a satisfyingly
no expansion joints). The roof has to be able to move with logical way which recalls the approach at Renault.
wind pressure: a conundrum. The solution was ingenious: _ The roof lights as constructed consist of four triangular
---------..___.
the glazing mullions to the roof would be connected with roof lights in each 18-square-metre roof shell - 11 square
a flexible link, bearing on a horizontal stainless steel rod. metres of glazing in each shell. The metal mesh daylight
Stansted as conceived by Norman Foster ten years ago reflectors suspended beneath the roof lights have a dual
was a pure, transparent box. The completed building has role. First, they diffuse direct sunlight and reduce solar
fully transparent walls (shaded by the overhanging gain on bright days. Secondly, they reflect the artificial
canopies) on the arrivals (south) and landside (north) lighting directed upward from the trees at night. The
elevations, but on the other elevations the glazing has reflectors avoid the impression that the great roof is full
evolved as two-thirds translucent, with clear panels only of black "holes" after dark.
at the lower levels to achieve the necessary solar shading. The 36-square-metre structural grid was the basis for
Yet if anything, this has increased the strong directional II the integration of the services. Half the total cost of the
pull of the building from entrance front to airstrip. terminal went to that part of it, below the concourse floor,
Natural light is the key element in Foster's architecture : ·, which the public never sees - the secret core of the place,
managed, utilised but in the end invading and flooding the Ilike the crypt of a Gothic cathedral. The undercroft grew in
structure. Using natural light also makes sense - people size gradually. Once the principle of below-floor servicing
are happier in naturally lit buildings. Reducing artificial was established - against the ingrained practice of BAA's
lighting saves money. At Stansted, the aim was to make -:.engineers - it extended under most of the concourse. But
 Raising the roof 47

The undercroft of the terminal

contains the mechanical services -
principally the air-handling plant
and the baggage-handling system.
They are carefully organised to
avoid confusion: ducting for major
services runs north-south; minor
services run east-west

it was only when, late in the project, the railway station case of failure). Trucks load directly from the undercroft to
was incorporated into the terminal that the undercroft transfer baggage to the aircraft.
assumed its present form. Chillers, airhandling, electrical The structure of Stansted, containing about 2,800 tons
plant and boilers were concentrated in the southern half of steel, was designed for rapid construction . The towers
of the 9-metre-high undercroft, feeding upwards through were prefabricated off-site (by the highly experienced
the structural trees. Waffle slab concrete allowed the Tubeworkers of Warwickshire, who had worked on
services to penetrate the floor without impairing its Renault), brought in byroad and lifted on to their concrete
structural performance. "We gradually got BAA's engineers bases by crane (the first of them arrived on site in February,
behind us," says Loren Butt, who headed work on the 1987). The "branches" were then fixed on and prestressed
services for Foster. "We decided that a fresh start was vital by tightening the "Jesus nuts''. The 18-square-metre roof
to avoid the messy confusion typical of earlier terminals. shells were next simply dropped into place with their
We met resistance, but we persisted - and gradually the aluminium decking already in place. With the roof in
BAA people began to see the sense of the approach." position, it was possible (by late 1987) to begin casting the
Stansted is a product of the new concern - as much concourse floor. Cladding and fitting out then followed .
among architects as clients - to create economical, Some of the most impressive photographs taken of the
energy-conscious buildings. Waste heat from the building date from the period, towards the end of 1987,
concourse area should generally be sufficient to warm when the "bones" of Stansted were in place and the full
the building in winter, except in the most extreme cold. majesty of the structure, as a work of engineering and
The northern sector of the undercroft, towards the architecture, could be appreciated. The idea had become
runway, was given over to a major airport activity: reality- Foster's "big shed" had arrived in Essex and now
baggage handling. The lower-level baggage hall is a had to be transformed into a place where people could
huge space, equipped with a supermarket-style optical check in, eat, drink, go to the lavatory, buy a bottle of duty-
scanner which automatically directs baggage to the free whisky or a hamburger and generally cope with the
correct flight (there is a full back-up manual system, in fraught business of taking an air journey.
52 Norman Foster and the architecture of flight

superimposed layer. A great deal of thought, for example, by a series of uplighters mounted on the trees and light
went into the design of the structural trees so that all the reflecting down from the ceiling - a logical corollary of
requisite services could be contained within them. Spencer the rejection of overhead servicing but a device initially
de Grey recalls long discussions about the trees' detailed resisted by BAA engineers. Norman Foster spoke early in
design so that they could be kept clear of protruding the project of the building "glowing" in the dark. Writing
pipes and ducts. As well as handling air distribution and of Stansted in the forthcoming edition of his personal
incorporating flight information screens, loudspeakers, sketches (Norman Foster Sketches, edited by Werner
clocks, signs and firefighting points, the trees were the Blaser, Birkhauser), Foster comments that the poetry of
location points for the terminal's artificial lighting. the lighting had to match the poetry of the engineering:
The trees are the keys to Stansted. They support the "However, the lighting is a different kind of poetry, more
entire main structure - the concourse floor stands on its of the heart. It is always shifting and elusive ...." These

----
ow~-con ~ e columns - and they convey the srrvires qualities had to be present by night as much as by day-
from undercroft to concourse, linking sources of heat, an airport is a 24-hour building.
fresh air and power with the users. Fresh-air pipes are Something more than conventional floodlighting was
grouped around a return air-duct (which also serves as a needed and Foster went to an established collaborator,
smoke vent in case of fire). The uplighters sit on top of the American lighting consultant Claude Engle, for the design
supply ducts and the other services are grouped around of the system. Engle's lights, made by Erco, use special
the edge of the pod. It is a_remarkably logical, elegant way reflectors to project the light in a wide diagonal sweep.
of handling the diverse services which are needed in a The approach stops short of being overly dramatic; rather,
large public space such as an airport terminal. At Stansted, it enhances the overall "calm" which was always an
the centre of the trees contains a service stair; if anything intrinsic quality of the building. Flexible and responsive
goes wrong, it can be dealt with behind the scenes. to changing external light conditions, the system also
By day, Stansted is filled with natural light through the meets the demands for economy in operation which
walls and roof lights. By night, it is lit not from above, but were never far from the minds of the architects. Combined
 The poetry of lighting 51

Check-in desks, security gates, passport controls, customs Foster's client, BAA, no longer a pu blic service, is by
posts, baggage carousels, lavatories, baby-changing its own admission engaged in a "long-term investment
. facilities, a chapel, bars, cafes, public telephones, a small business''. In the paper The Impact of Commercia lisation
· supermarket (duty-free), news-stands and other shops, on the Planning and Engineering of Airports, delivered to
plus behind-the-scenes administrative and security offices the Institution of Civil Engineers in December 1990, AR:
- and lots of people. Norman Foster's idea of a return to Westbrook and D.H. Williams of BAA (t he latter, Stanst ed's
the early days of flying was, in some senses, always Development Director) spelt it out: "Shopping generally is
doomed to failure. Passen gm_are rarelY- allowe.clto_wa lk a fashion business... BAA wants its new te rminals to reflect
across the airstri p to their aircraft in large modern airports. this and increasingly, BAA has moved to concessionaire-
The very act offlying is complex. Boarding a plane today funded fit-out to reflect the 'short life' fashion natu re
can mean leaving home at 6 a.m. to take off at 10 a.m. for of concessions''. The authors concluded ominol!.5ly: no ne
aone-hour flight; if you can pass through the airport in thing is certain, whatever was planned and often agreed
two hours, yo u are very Iucky. The heroic . -
. days of flying will always be likely to change in operation ...."
the age of the t t on the a1rf1eld . . Norman Foster angered the BAA when; at Fost er
en - are long departed.
Yet Stansted was consciously · . Associates' own completion party held in t he baggage hall
h . designed to evoke those
ero1c days wh th . a few days before public opening, he complained tha t the
an d en e airport represented the beginning of
a venture rath th .
c- place was already being spoiled and tha t th e lager-advert
Cum -comm · er an the setting for a bureaucrati
had to b ercial process. A return to primitive simplicity umbrellas would probably soon arrive. As arch itect, he
e, as ever av· · R . . . would have argued for a far more influential role, even
nowforth ' ision. eal1ty1sd1fferent:airtravelis
e masses Sk·ies are congested· there are delays after the building had been handed over.
and 0 ,.,,., . ·
'
...... as1ona II th . . '
Which de t y ere are worse incidents like the bomb Foster had been commissioned - aga inst the odds -
s rayed a . I'
Lockerbie N n air iner over the Scottish town of to design the terminal in total: structure, services, and
· 0 one actu II b 1·
of air travel b . a Y e ieves there is much prospect interior. The interior fit-out flowed from, and was

...___
ecom1ng Iess f raught and complicated.
integrated into, the structure rather than being a
54 Norman Foster and the architecture 0 ~

with abundant task-lighting, it produces an effect of litres of spirits in the duty-free shop) there is an obvious
which Spencer de Grey justly claims is "both spectacular need for sophisticated fire engineering. However, if the
and very cheerful". shops, bars and restaurants enclosed within the cabins are
A great glass shed full of light.. .. But a shed equally excluded, the problem is vastly reduced. This has been
full of people. Flexibility was demanded of the building - accomplished by compartmentalising the cabins -
the potential to economically accommodate change providing fire shutters and sprinkler systems for each unit,
and rearrangement. Here seemed to lie the best hope of and isolating them from the main space. Seen in this
coming to terms with the shops and the offices, and the context, the cabins are a vital part of the Foster strategy
lavatories and the bars. Check-in and baggage reclaim for Stansted. What the architects could not entirely
facilities had to be anchored to the baggage handling control, however, is what some would feel is the rather
system, but all other internal activities could b_e contained banal quality of the shop fascias. Go beyond a Foster front,
within the overall grid in a series of Foster-designed and you could be in any shop in any UK high street.
"cabins" floating within the "enormous room" of the There are aspects of the interior which seem a little at
terminal. Sitting on the concourse floor in the manner odds with the undeniable grandeur of the architecture.
of independent, portable Foster buildings based on a Norman Foster likes to draw parallels between the building
secondary 1.2-metre planning grid, these structures and the great railwa 'y'. t ermini of the last centu_!Y But there
would have their own fire and environmental controls. are also important differences. Paddington and King's
The cabins could be seen as buildings within a building Cross are essentially sheds for trains: hard-edged, semi-
-yet they have always been part of the design; indeed, the external places where the winds blow in, with clearly
design is inconceivable without them. An enormous open subsidiary spaces for people. At an airport, the machines
space has great attractions, but equally it has its own are outside - the terminal is an insulated box double-
problems. One of the most compelling probl~ms is the glazed against noise and clearly "inside''. Yet t~e simple
provision of fire security. With restaurants, kitchens and elegance of the building carries all before it - you are
shops full of highly flammable goods (including thousands happy to be a participant in Foster's game. At once
 The poetry of lighting 55

The structural tree acts as a

. hal archway and a front
triump . . tth
door to passengers arriving a e
drop-off forecourt at concourse
Overleaf: Looking back• to
Ievel •
the terminal from the satel 1,te

remarkably straightforward and su btly evocative, the

building ends up a celebration of the act of flyin g.
One of the most satisfying aspects of t he t ermin al is
the overall flooring - extending into both t he British Ra il
station and the rapid transit stations - in grey Italian
granite. Beautifully finished and laid in a sa nd bed on
the concrete slab of the concourse to coun t er possible
movement, it is practical and has the righ t charact eristi cs
of integrity and durability. Beyond the security ba rriers t he
departure lounge is carpeted, a requ irement on w hich BAA
would not compromise, and one which typifies its ideas on
"passenger comfort". But did it have to be extended over
the entire departure area? Designed by Ron Nixon , its grey,
black and white pattern is discreet- ideas of includ ing
elements of strong colour were rejected by Foste r, w ho felt
that its restless quality would be at odds w ith the
building's calm . In contrast, the passenger seating (Teena),
check-in desks and screens (some of them making good
use of "fritted" glass, are all solid and appropriate.
The tranquillity of the whole interior, it was assumed,
would be underpinned by the palette of Foster colours
throughout: varying shades of grey and white. It was Alan
Fletcher of Pentagram who remarked tartly that "Fosters
seem to think that grey is a colour." Pentagram (who had
58
Norman Foster and the architect ~~
ure of flight

worked with Richard Rogers at Lloyd's) were brought in almost irrelevant. The passenger it had been a ·
' ssumed
by Foster Associates to advise on the vital issue of signage would find his way easily through a terminal notable ior
in the building. BAA already had a standard signage its uncluttered clarity. However, as the building has been
system - black lettering on a yellow background - fitted out, the clarity has been somewhat diluted. BM
developed in the 1960s by Jock Kinneir, which it was felt that despite the straightforward nature of a building,
anxious not to abandon. "We told them clearly that they passengers still looked to signs for reassurance. The
had to have our standard system," says Sir Norman Payne, clearest view through the building is on the arrivals side.
yet the instructions could not have been very clear. The departing passenger is unlikely to see the plane in
Somehow, Fletcher and his colleagues were pl lowed to which he is to fly - unless he arrives late and catches a
work up an alternative approach, including the use of glimpse of it taking off! In part, this is because the second
giant directional arrows, numbers and pictograms which of the satellite buildings - directly in front of the terminal
were as unacceptable to Norman Foster as they were to - is not yet complete. But there are other problems.
Norman Payne. When the proposals were put to BAA they Leaving aside the (inevitable) intrusion of the cabins, the
were turned d_own flat. The 1960s system, Pentagram were barrier between landside and airside is critical. The arriving
informed, was inviolable. A compromise was worked up passenger immediately comes into a very large space, so
by Pentagram and Foster Associates. The ~lack-on-yellow that the intrusion of opaque glass screens at the Customs
th
look remains, but the signs are at least integrated into the point does not jar. But from the opposite side, it slim e
architecture of the structural towers and are based on a building off dramatically. On the departures side, fritted
clear module - one line per slat, with lettering always glass makes a less solid barrier. . d ss
. h f the staine 9Ia
justified to the left - while reduced versions of the The passenger will also see t e top o
. • a The tower
"supergraphics" have appeared in the terminal to mark tower which marks the main cafeteria are · .
, . . Cl k whose previous
toilets, eating places and other basic facilities. was designed by the artist Brian ar e, . lsozaki
. . . I d rk with Arata
It is ironic that so much debate took place over the architectural commIssIons inc u e wo . . Leeds.
. . entre proJect in
signing of a building where signing had been deemed in Japan and a massive shopping-c
 The poetry of lighting 61

At one point, there was discussion of Clarke also doing station designed in-house, but she pushed for Foster to
a long coloured panel in one of the external walls. That be given the job. The initial idea was to keep the station
would have been costly- and perhaps too demonstrative. apart, a clearly absurd plan that dated from the period
The tower, accompanied by a series of back-lit wall panels, when Stansted was to consist of two sepa rate terminal
was the more practical alternative : Stansted's largest buildings. Later, when the station ·was brough t into the
piece of "public art''. Admirable in itself, the tower has the undercroft- Norman Payne says that he insisted on the
disadvantage of breaking into the clear space above the change - some degree of continuity was therefore needed
cabins, another complicating intrusion into an essentially in the treatment of terminal and station. The same gran ite
simple building. paving extends across both, but the station has a railway
The first satellite completed continues the aesthetic of ambience, solid and inevitably monumenta l. Platforms
the main building. Passengers transfer from the terminal are contained by a 500-metre-long retaining wall which,
via the tracked transit system and arrive in a station below says Martin Manning, represents one of the most notable
the satellite. Escalators and lifts carry them up to the top engineering achievements on the site. Linked to the
floor, an open lounge with fine views of the runway. They concourse by ramps and lifts, it shares a common trolley
go down a level to board aircraft through linkbridges - system - a notable advance for luggage-laden travellers
agreeably high-tech looking devices. Arriving passengers and made possible by slightly inclining platform edges to
des~end immediately to the TTS (Track Transit System) prevent trolleys tumbling on to the tracks.
station The t e11 1tes,
- .
alas, cannot be as simple as the For all the compromises, the disagreemen ts and, it has
. · sa
terminal itself For security · to be said, the disfigurements, Stansted is a Foster building
· reasons, arriving and departing
passengers m t b .
us e strictly segregated - a certain element through and through. Moreover, it is the first major Foster
0f
complexity· th · . building, after a string of corporate headquarters, cultural
in e c1rculat1on system is unavoidable.
The Stansted ·1
institutions and straightforward sheds, which has had to
b . rai way station might well not have
een designed b F0st .
conf Y er Associates at all. Jane Priestman come to terms with the naked force of commerce. So far it
irms th at at first , British Rail intended to have the has survived the encounter.