TXL: Berlin Tegel Airport

Indeed, Berliners are passionately nostalgic about Tegel, since it served as the window to the wider world for the once-isolated island of West Berlin. At the same time, this airport represents the launch of architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners’ (gmp) success story. Together with Klaus Nickels, the then recently graduated Hamburg architects won the 1965 competition for building the new airport, which opened in 1974. Numerous historical and contemporary photos, together with drawings, have been taken from the gmp Architects’ archive to illustrate the Tegel Gesamtkunstwerk, its vibrant color scheme and overall design, from the structure as a whole right down to the check-in counters with their rounded edges. Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg provide a detailed account of this early commission, and the book includes an essay by Jürgen Tietz on the specific qualities of this unique air terminal—now a listed building—and its historical significance.

With an essay by Jürgen Tietz and a conversation with Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg, and an afterword by Christoph Rauhut. Jürgen Tietz is a Berlin-based journalist and presenter in Berlin with a focus on architecture and heritage conservation. He has written numerous books, among them the biography Meinhard von Gerkan. Vielfalt in der Einheit (2015). His most recent publications include Monument Europa (2017) about building culture and its role in Europe, and Drei Monde der Moderne oder wie die Moderne klassisch wurde (2019), a study of architecture in the 20th century.