international consortium unveils airport proposal
A new chapter for Athens International Airport is unfolding with the design reveal by the Anemos consortium, a team led by Grimshaw, Haptic, and Athens-based K-Studio. Working alongside Arup, Leslie Jones, Triagonal, and Plan A, the architects are taking on an ambitious expansion that will increase the airport’s capacity from 26 to 40 million passengers by 2032. Delivered in phases and within the complexities of an active airport environment, the project aims to transform Athens International Airport into a travel hub that’s equal parts functional and expressive of the city’s layered identity.
The project, as reimagined by K-Studio and collaborators, acknowledges its own relatively recent history. Built by Hochtief and inaugurated in 2001 ahead of the 2004 Summer Olympics, the airport currently sits 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) outside the capital’s center. The design team’s proposal integrates both expansion and renovation — extending the main and satellite terminal buildings while upgrading landside and airside infrastructure, gate lounges, aircraft stands, and retail zones. The new design doesn’t seek to erase what’s already there but to amplify and enrich it.
Athens International Airport is set to expand to accommodate 40 million passengers by 2032 | images © Aesthetica
k-studio draws from the spirit of athens
As part of the proposal by K-Studio and its international partners, Athens International Airport becomes a vessel for the city’s history, material culture, and rhythm of life. A pragmatic layout ensures ease of use, but the soul of the project lies in its attention to experience. Using natural materials, landscape integration, and a generous infusion of daylight, the design reflects Athens as a city built over millennia, where time layers gently over form. The goal is to make the airport feel unmistakably local without compromising on global standards of efficiency.
Sustainability is another driving force behind the reimagined Athens International Airport. K-Studio, Grimshaw, and Haptic are aligning the architecture with AIA’s net zero goals and LEED Gold targets. Passive design strategies are paired with low-carbon materials, modular construction techniques, and energy-efficient systems for water and waste. Rather than treating environmental performance as an afterthought, it is embedded into the architectural DNA from the start.
a new western facade features stone fins and sculptural portals to guide passenger flow
a colonnade facade and oculus interiors
A noteworthy addition to the main terminal building is its redefined western facade — a rhythmic, colonnade-like elevation articulated by stone fins and punctuated by six sculptural portals. This new landside identity for Athens International Airport, designed by K-Studio and team, offers a sense of arrival and orientation. Inside, the raised soffit floods the check-in and departures hall with diffused sunlight and reinforces intuitive navigation in what is typically the most stressful zone of any airport.
The airport’s redesign also introduces two immersive, civic-scale ‘oculus’ spaces — moments of architectural drama that double as meditative counterpoints to the busy terminal flow. The north oculus, conceived as a lush, circular Mediterranean garden, soars to 24.5 meters in height and acts as a grand gathering space. Passengers entering from airside encounter a green microcosm of the city’s public life. The south oculus, meanwhile, takes a more intimate tone with tiered terraces, dining areas, and sunlight cascading through a lifted ceiling.
two large oculus spaces bring light, gardens, and civic scale to the terminal experience
‘Athens is a spectacular city that has seen a huge increase in visitor numbers over the last decade, far beyond what its existing airport can comfortably support,’ says Andrew Thomas, Managing Partner, Grimshaw. ‘Responding to this challenge, we’ve been excited to work with Athens International Airport to create a bold new vision that retains and renews the existing terminal building while adding a series of major new extensions, to create a singular new architectural whole. Our design is inspired by the city: an airport that reflects the past, present and future of Athens, a celebration of its architecture, hospitality and culture.’
natural materials, daylight, and landscaping create a strong sense of place throughout the terminal
sustainability is central with LEED Gold targets and net-zero carbon strategies
