Seven ultra-glam airports, the place design is taken into account as necessary as effectivity, have been topped essentially the most stunning on the planet by a prestigious French design and structure awards physique.
The Prix Versailles, offered at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris, picks the world’s most stunning airports yearly, with seven named on the 2026 listing.
All over the world, a various number of venues have made the most recent Prix Versailles minimize – nonetheless, no UK airport hubs have been chosen.
The standards? A mix of aesthetic, social, cultural and ecological options.
Jerome Gouadain, secretary common of the Prix Versailles, mentioned: ‘Whether or not they have newly appeared on the horizon or undergone a serious renovation, modern airports and airport terminals are progressive, inescapable hallmarks of their areas and their eras.
‘They’re progressive as a result of they resolve the obvious battle between the growing frequency of journey and the necessity for velocity – each central to an airport’s goal – on the one hand and, on the opposite, the singularity of a type of tourism that goals to be accessible and that values individuals’s time in locations that, at the present time, can now not be described as mere “switch” areas.’
Listed below are the seven airports that made the ‘most stunning listing’…
Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 3, Germany
Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 3 additionally scooped up the distinguished Prix Versailles award
Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 3 was designed to be each environment friendly and vigorous.
To offer travellers a easy, acquainted expertise, its piers, boarding gates and lounges emulate the streets and squares of a metropolis.
The structure consists of three hanging ring-shaped sculptures, made up of colored aluminium discs that rotate constantly, creating an ever-evolving, continuously refreshed journey panorama.
Guangzhou Baiyun Worldwide Airport, Terminal 3, Guangzhou, China
Guangzhou Baiyun Worldwide Airport is the primary airport to be awarded
Guangzhou, the ‘Metropolis of Flowers’, is thought for its ingenious structure – and Guangzhou Baiyun Worldwide Airport blends historic tradition with fashionable aptitude.
The principle inspiration is nature – with a stylised cycle of clouds, water and flowers producing an intuitive, light-filled structure with fluid, natural curves to information travellers on their means.
By terraces, atriums and gardens – together with the very best open-air public remark deck at a Chinese language airport – Terminal 3 is an comprehensible winner of the Prix Versailles award.
Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Worldwide Airport, Terminal 2, Guwahati, India
Subsequent up is Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Worldwide Airport in India
Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Worldwide Airport has one major attribute that has contributed to its win: it embraces the spirit of India wholeheartedly.
Sweeping vaulted ceilings in natural shapes reference sacred landscapes and indigenous architectural traditions.
In the meantime, indigenous artwork, tribal narratives and native craftsmanship are seamlessly embedded throughout the interiors.
Navi Mumbai Worldwide Airport, Terminal 1, Navi Mumbai, India
One other Indian hub to be awarded the prize is Navi Mumbai Worldwide Airport
Navi Mumbai Worldwide Airport, whose Terminal 1 opened in 2025, is ultra-modern, with a lotus design including an inventive edge to the constructing.
A sequence of geometric portals creates a ceremonial ambiance.
Plus, a curated digital artwork programme enhances the undertaking’s future-ready character by means of dynamic, interactive installations positioned at key pause factors.
Techo Worldwide Airport, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Techo Worldwide Airport in Phnom Penh was praised for its ecological success
Though it’s a image of renewal, this main airport situated 20 kilometres south of Phnom Penh will get its title from historical past – a title granted to heroes by the king 500 years in the past.
The principle design is stored beneath an overarching roof cover that prioritises quick strolling distances from the drop-off zone to the boarding areas, in addition to easy orientation.
The roof design is a nod to Cambodia’s spectacular palaces and temples, whereas the inside ceilings are impressed by conventional basket weaving.
Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport, US
Becoming a member of the listing of winners is Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport
With its huge roofline evocative of the close by Allegheny Mountains, Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport stands as the town’s latest emblem.
Its design celebrates the pure panorama, with 38 metal columns formed like bushes, paying homage to the area’s forests.
Propped up by glass partitions, the area is flooded with pure mild, whereas 4 out of doors terraces will quickly provide travellers entry to contemporary air.
San Diego Worldwide Airport, Terminal 1, US
San Diego Worldwide Airport was hailed for its transformation
Terminal 1 at America’s busiest single-runway airport has been fully remodeled, together with its roadways, its automobile parks and its multimodal transport.
Its most spectacular function, a 244-metre curved glass facade, offers pure mild and makes the area vivid and expansive.
Out of doors terraces overlook the bay, whereas versatile lounges improve the consolation of the hub.
