National Faire!

We all have to admit that flying these days has become a bit of trial, and one of the biggest trials of all is at the airport. For all the new airport terminals that have opened recently, they still leave me rather unimpressed. They all tout the amount of natural light and wide open spaces that they incorporate. Even though the architecture maybe good, by the time all the stores, security checkpoints, fast food joints etc have been added in, it all starts to resemble a suburban shopping mall. Even from the exterior these new buildings lack presence being obscured by elevated roadways and such. One particular example is JFK, which is a nightmare.

In the 60’s and 70’s I imagine departing and arriving was an entirely different matter. We had the brilliance of Eero Saarinen’s terminal for TWA, the jet age splendour of Pan Am’s Worldport, and the clean stark modernity of National Airlines Sundrome.


The terminal designed by I. M. Pei was opened in 1970 for National Airlines. Now this is a terminal filled with natural light. This was the first time an airport structure was built using glass as a primary source of construction. This is a masterpiece of modernist architecture using incredibly clean and simple lines to convey an extraordinary sense of space. In this case the building does not have to convey movement as one can see all the movement happening outside.

There were very few curves in the building except for central open core (hence the name Sundrome) allowing natural sunlight into the lower levels.

Now after nearly 40 years and subsequent use by various different airlines it conveys nothing of the original impact it once had.

Unfortunately it has been slated for demolition, and preservationists have organized an opposition to its demolition and so they should. This is evocative of when flying was full of savoir faire.

When Two Minds Meet

Mmm, we hear the name Goldfinger and we are inexplicably led to one of 007’s arch enemies, who had a bit of a penchant for gold. However dig a little deeper and we come across another man of the name Goldfinger who had a penchant for architecture. Erno Goldfinger was a Hungarian born architect and furniture designer who worked primarily in England and who was a key member of the Modern Movement.

His style which was very austere and severe and almost brutal at times ended up being an integral part of modernist architecture in England during the 1920’s and 1930’s. His buildings and designs contrasted dramatically with the surroundings in which they were located in. In the setting of old London and other areas his designs stood alone and thus demanded to be looked at and studied for their own merits and then as to how they related to their surroundings. Even right through to the late 1960’s Goldfinger was there, and England is dotted to testaments of his legacy, like the Trellick Tower in London, one of the landmark attempts of high-rise residential living.

The façade of the Georgian mansion he updated for Helena Rubinstein’s new London salon on Grafton Street in 1925. was a triumph of modernist design. The salon was located in chic Mayfair. Goldfinger's original design included Madame’s name illuminated in lights, repeated four times down the side of the building, which Madame vetoed as she thought it bad taste. Goldfinger resented Rubinstein as being overbearing- an adjective often used to describe himself, however in retrospect, he could see how interesting she was. Stubbornly, Goldfinger forced through the starkly modern design which was to the taste of neither Madame or of her customers, nor indeed of the builders who tried to add decorative touches to Goldfinger's drawings in the belief that he must have accidentally forgotten them. Although he struggled even to be paid for the project, Goldfinger succeeded in building 'the first modern shop in London' with a fully glazed façade which is today's standard treatment.

I don’t have a photo of the salon’s exterior however it would have been similar to the below.

The interior of the beauty salon was designed in a minimal way, with chrome and glass fittings faintly reminiscent of hospital interiors.

Sadly destroyed during World War II, Madame’s London Salon was redone in a totally different style. As usual Madame, had a knack for sourcing hitherto unknown talent and paving the way for their success.