This California airport named one of the most beautiful in the world – The Mercury News

San Diego International Airport’s new $3.8 billion terminal has made an international list of the world’s seven most beautiful airports. The new Terminal 1, which opened in September, made the annual “Most Beautiful” list from Paris-based Prix Versailles. Awards are given out annually at the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) headquarters. The award was for San Diego’s new terminal, not the entire airport. San Diego was one of two American winners, along with the remodel of the Pittsburgh International Airport. Other winners included Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (China), Frankfurt Airport (Germany), Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (India), Navi Mumbai International Airport (India) and Techo International Airport (Cambodia). Prix Versailles was founded in 2015 with goals of promoting design, sustainability, socially useful buildings and innovation. It also gives awards for hotels, museums and restaurants. No other San Diego buildings made the list, but Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn and Lucia restaurants in nearby Los Angeles County won restaurant awards. Jérôme Gouadain, secretary general of Prix Versailles, said in a news release the airports were “inescapable hallmarks of their regions and their eras.” Three of the airports will be awarded a world title by the end of the year, considered a bigger honor (San Diego in the running). Last year, the winners were the Harvey Milk Terminal at the San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 1 at Marseille Provence Airport (France) and the main terminal at Portland International Airport. The competition’s jurors said San Diego’s new terminal had completely transformed the space that previously was home to an aging terminal. “This gentle revolution rallied the most advanced expertise to create a high-performance civic gateway,” it said, “(that is) deeply attuned to San Diego’s climate, culture and regional identity.” The terminal also received high marks for an intuitive walk from curb to boarding gate, its curved glass façade and its lack of structural columns in ticketing areas that shrinks its carbon footprint. “Outdoor terraces overlooking the bay, flexible lounges and local concessions enhance the comfort and the profoundly appealing character of the site,” the jurors said. Terminal 1 architectural firm Gensler was in high spirits because it also designed Pittsburgh’s airport. “Both of these projects represent something we care deeply about at Gensler; the idea that a great airport can genuinely transform a city’s relationship with the world,” said Ty Osbaugh, a principal at Gensler. San Francisco-based Gensler, which also has an office in downtown San Diego, received the world title last year for its work on San Francisco’s airport. Jurors for the competition are among the world’s top architects but can sometimes include members from different professions. Last year, one of the jurors was “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson.