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With a nod to the past the new US$743 million JetBlue terminal is ready for takeoff in a post-9/11 world.
Back in its heyday, the TWA terminal at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, New York, USA was hailed as a modernistic masterpiece. With its gull-winged profile and ultra-futuristic tubular corridors, the building was the epitome of the new age of air travel when it debuted in 1962.
Nearly 40 years later, TWA ceased operations and the terminal closed.
In the meantime, upstart JetBlue Airways was fast making a name for itself - and outgrowing its home at JFK. The obvious choice was the terminal right next door, which just happened to be the former TWA site.
But the project was going to stall on the runway unless the team could figure out a way to reinterpret the TWA building for today's jet set.
Something Old, Something Blue
Designed by Eero Saarinen, the TWA terminal is considered a landmark of aviation history. It even makes an appearance in the movie Catch Me If You Can.
Although the TWA site had been shuttered since 2001, the main terminal building and two trademark "flight tube" corridors for departures and arrivals had been preserved.