What London Could Have Looked Like – The Airports That Never Got Built

People always assume that the majority of us hate the new buildings changing the capital. Actually, it’s the opposite way round. Most of us don’t mind them and many even believe that we could use more. As it turns out, we rather like our Norman Fosters and our Renzo Pianos, and we’re happy to welcome more of them to our ever-growing city.

However, even our architectural embrace might have been tested by some past plans that never made it to reality. There are hundreds of them, and there are those in planning now that will never make it off the paper. Usually its money that halts construction, but sometimes, just sometimes, it’s absolute stupidity. Such is the case for this week’s buildings that never got built.

The Original Thames Airport

Plans to build an airport on the Thames are hardly shocking. The attempt only got shut down a few years ago. But what if I told you this wasn’t Boris’s Thames Hub? Oh no. This is a proposal from the 1930s to build an airport just upstream – right next to the Houses of Parliament.

There’s little left of the original plans, but you can see from paper clippings how it would have looked. The gigantic metal monstrosity spans the width of the river like a bridge, throwing shade on the palace in every sense. It had to be designed tall enough so that ships could pass easily underneath.

There’s no doubt the beautiful view of Westminster would have been forever ruined by this hellish hangar deck. The constant noise pollution and vibrations from airplanes would also have damaged the already dilapidated parliament building, set to be renovated this decade. Thank God the idea never took off.

The Kings Cross Airport

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only madcap scheme for air travel in the capital. Another, courtesy of architect Charles Glover, was proposed at Kings Cross, just above the railway.

This design was like a wagon wheel, hovering over the area. It looks more like something from a Thunderbirds episode than a functioning (and safe) structure. Glover’s design allowed planes to take off in different directions, but that’s about all it had going for it. One look and you’ll be wondering how on earth anyone was meant to reach the plane, never mind their destination.

Given these schemes, expansion at one of the existing airports suddenly doesn’t sound so bad. Unfortunately, for those living in the Heathrow flight path, the reality is worse than the retro ideas. While the expansion has been given the go ahead, Khan is still hoping to revive the Thames Hub plans instead. Either way, it seems only a matter of time before we see our cityscape altered by airports. Let’s just hope the harebrained futuristic forays stay well and truly in the past.

The post What London Could Have Looked Like – The Airports That Never Got Built appeared first on Felix Magazine.