technology
Open House: Just Plane Ambitious
London unveils a new airline terminal on March 30, a few weeks after Beijing. Here's a look at the two new temples of aviation.
| London Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 5 | Beijing Capital (PEK) Terminal 3 | |
| BRITISH BARON/ STARCHITECT | Richard Rogers, aka Baron Rogers of Riverside, known for Paris's Pompidou Center and London's Millennium Dome | Norman Foster, aka Lord Foster of Thames Bank, a licensed pilot who designed NYC's Hearst Tower |
| PRICE TAG | $8.8 billion | $3.6 billion |
| TIME TO BUILD | 6 years | 3.5 years |
| CAPACITY | 30 million passengers | 55 million passengers |
| SIZE | 350,000 square meters--that's 50 soccer fields | 1 million square meters--that makes it the world's largest air terminal |
| FLAGSHIP AIRLINE | British Airways | Air China |
| MOVING ELEMENT | The Personal Rapid Transit System's battery-powered, pilotless capsules whisk passengers from the terminal to the parking lots. | A $240 million baggage system, which resembles an underground roller coaster, can get luggage to passengers 4.5 min-utes after a plane is unloaded. |
| CONSTRUCTION-SITE EXILES | Two rivers and 80,000 artifacts, such as a 5,000-year-old ax, were moved. | Almost 10,000 villagers were forced to relocate. |
| AIRPORT-AS-MUSEUM | The glass artworks by Nikki Bell and Ben Langlands are engraved inexplicably with airport codes. Because nothing says fine art like "LAX." | The replicas of relics and monuments--Zhang Heng's Celestial Globe, the Nine-Dragon Wall--let you check "history" off your tourist list. More time for shopping! |
| NEAR-INSTANT OBSOLESCENCE | With Heathrow already serving 50% more passengers than it was designed to handle, T5 is expected to reach capacity within a few months. | With air traffic soaring in China, an entire new airport is already being planned for the thriving capital city, tentatively slated to open in 2015. |
| REASON TO VISIT, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT FLYING | Food: Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's 180-seat restaurant may be called Plane Food, but he's not one for little bags of salted nuts or stringy, rewarmed chicken breast. His goal is to create the first Michelin-starred airport restaurant. | Food for the soul: In addition to the terminal's two multifaith prayer rooms--fully stocked with holy water!--there's a tranquil indoor garden planted in the style of the grounds of the ancient imperial Summer Palace. |