What To Do With Hitler's Airport?

The new Tom Cruise film Valkyrie features scenes shot in the massive and recently closed Tempelhof Airport, the sheer size of which will pose challenges to any redevelopment.

1 minute read

December 28, 2008, 9:00 AM PST

By Michael Dudley

"On Oct. 30, [Tempelhof Airport, one of Europe's largest buildings]...closed to winged traffic, its many square kilometres of prime Berlin real estate destined for some kind of redevelopment.

Typical of Nazi-era architecture, Tempelhof's main building was built to last all 1,000 years of Hitler's Reich. A short walk from the U-bahn stop at Platz der Luftbrucke, the first view is a city block of art deco limestone, itself only a small part of a complex that goes on and on and on. Don't even bother photographing the exterior unless you have a satellite. The curving arms of the terminal span 1.2 kilometres, and the complex encompasses three million square feet.

Small wonder the Berlin government has no clue what to do with this colossus. Three million square feet of blackened vaults, air raid shelters, basketball courts and an airline terminal no one uses. Demolition will probably take longer than the construction."

FULL STORY: Touring Hitler's Air Palace

Saturday, December 20, 2008 in The Globe and Mail

Architecture Europe Transportation

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