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Konrad-Adenauer (Cologne/Bonn) Airport goes back some: the site was used for military purposes in the early 20th century and was cleared for civil aviation in 1926. Whereas, in 1950, a puny 154 planes took to the skies from here, by 2000 the figure had risen to over 155,000 with carryings of almost 6.4 million people. In the expectation that this heady trendy will continue, the managing company has now invested more than 600 million German marks on building a new terminal with sub-surface ICE and urban rapid transit railway stations, on two parking buildings and on a revamped road-access system.
At the heart of the project lies the steel and glass structure by noted architects Murphy/Jahn: 380 million marks went on building the 67,000 square-metre Terminal 2 alone. The canny plan by Helmut Jahn, an adopted US citizen, unites short routes in a transparent, intelligible manner. The completely glazed facade gives on visually to the runway. Supported by intricate intertwined steel columns, the largely glazed roof seems to hover weightlessly above the check-in hall.
