UP UP AND AWAY ....

Some of us spend a lot of time at airports traveling for work or for holidays. With the Christmas period of travelling just past, it is an opportune time to reflect on the design of airports within Melbourne.

Melbourne's main airport for international and overseas flights is Melbourne Airport located in Tullamarine. Followed by Avalon Airport in Geelong, Essendon Fields Airport, and Moorabin Airport.

Tullamarine airport was first opened in 1970 and prior to that Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport. Due to the growth in Melbourne's population over the last few decades, Tullamarine has also expanded in size and capacity through several incarnations over the years, starting in 1989 and continuing through to the present day.

Domestic and international terminals, departure gates, airport lounges, retail, shopping, food outlets, hotel and car parking facilities have all been improved upon since the buildings original design and plan in the 1970s. However, transportation to and from Tullamarine has remained the same since its inception, with the main forms being car, taxi, uber, and bus links.

There has been much debate over the years from various political parties promising public transport links such as rail or tram lines. Considering that most international airports around the world have such links, it is surprising that this infrastructure has not been achieved, nor was it implemented within the original 1970's airport masterplan.

It is encouraging to see that newer airports, such as Avalon Airport, now have overseas travel as part of their facilities on offer. Avalon and other airports in Victoria have an opportunity to learn from the design and planning that has been implemented at Tullamarine, and apply new design strategies to their burgeoning airports.

When architects look at designing airports they need to be thinking outside if the box, and include new and innovative ideas within their planning and implementation. They need to consider the future and longevity and create 'easy' and 'memorable' experiences for airport visitors, such as pubic transport infrastructure, modern and open lounges and terminals for visitors and families, and reasonably priced retail and food for all to enjoy during their visit to an airport. Make the airport a destination place for all to enjoy, a place to visit for a variety of reasons, and not just for travelling purposes.