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Choosing the right architects – your first important design move in an airport terminal project
Planning an airport terminal drives extraordinarily large investment decisions. And a new terminal will be the “CPU” of the airport’s hardware for the next 20–30 years. Therefore, a good collaboration between client and design team is central. It’s the “operating...
Choosing the right architects – your first important design move in an airport terminal project
Learn how to select the right design team for airport terminal projects. Discover 5 key factors to improve collaboration, reduce risk, and ensure long-term success.
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Changing Paradigms: German airports can no longer build their way out of efficiency problems
6 years ago in March 2019, I published my LinkedIn article “Agility – the biggest challenge for German airports”. It described ongoing operational disruptions due to “Wachstums-Schmerzen” (“Growth-Pain”… German for the pain children or companies might experience from...
Speedboat or Aircraft Carrier? Why the Right Organization is Critical to Large-Scale Airport Project Success
What kind of project are we running? Every large-scale project is unique, and there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to project execution. To ensure success, project owners and planners should clarify following key strategic questions at the project's outset. What...
Crossing the Alps, not a Walk in the Park: Lessons from Large Airport Projects
Large airport projects are like alpine crossings: long, complex, and risky. This article highlights key lessons for managing teams, complexity, and uncertainty in such unique and demanding project situations. Complex large-scale projects are incredibly exciting...
10 Most Important Learnings from 30 Years Planning Complex Projects
This year I am 30 years in planning large and complex projects: 1995 after studying architecture at ETH Zurich I had the chance to work as a design architect in Berlin. Due to the situation after the German-reunion I was fortunate to design within the next 9 years a...
Increasing Efficiency in Airport Planning – A Different Approach to Capacity Demand Calculations
This article reflects the question of how the need for long-term efficiency improvement at airports can be met through an adapted masterplanning process. It particularly focuses on the early phase of capacity demand planning Need For Efficiency Improvement Changes...
Greater complexity needs holistic planning: why strategic masterplanning is the way forward in airport development
For the longest time, the question of business growth in the airport industry seemed to answer itself. Demand for air travel has grown continuously over the last decades. Many airport operators treated infrastructure planning as a simple linear equation: more...
Rethinking your Business Model – The Future of Airport Development
At „Passenger Terminal Expo“ in Madrid in April 2025 I attended an insightful talk on the use of AI at Airports. An Amazon and a...
Passenger Terminal Expo Madrid – Key Takeaways and Critical Reflections
My key takeaways on the 2,5 days I have spent at the Passenger Terminal Expo Conference 2025.
Great terminals have „soul“ – so do people planning them
I am writing this lines sitting in the afternoon Swiss flight from Zurich to Madrid...on the way attending PTE-Passenger Terminal Expo....
Changing Paradigms: German airports can no longer build their way out of efficiency problems
The traditional strategy -𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 space- is no longer viable. At most German airports nowadays there’s not enough space to expand, not enough profit to finance large infrastructure development plus an unfriendly regulatory and political environment.
Speedboat or Aircraft Carrier? Why the Right Organization is Critical to Large-Scale Airport Project Success
In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the special challenges that large projects bring for clients and planners. Part 2 is focusing on the key questions that should be asked at the very beginning of any major project – especially how to find the right and efficient project organisation.
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