When you think of beautiful architecture, your mind probably goes to castles, cathedrals, or sleek modern museums, not the place where you’re sprinting for a flight with a backpack and half a bagel. But that’s exactly why the Prix Versailles exists: to recognize and celebrate the beauty found in unexpected places, including airports.
Each year, this global architecture prize—often called the “Oscars of architecture”—highlights the world’s most stunning new public buildings, including restaurants, hotels, university campuses… and, since 2020, airport terminals. The goal isn’t just to hand out trophies. It’s to spotlight design that improves our shared environments and transforms even the most routine travel experience into something memorable.
The 2025 edition of the Prix Versailles just dropped, and six airport terminals across the globe have been recognized for their beauty, sustainability, and creativity. Whether you’re headed to China, Japan, France—or flying domestically through Portland or San Francisco—here are the airports that might just make you stop and look up before your flight boards.
The 2025 Winners: Most Beautiful Airport Structures
This year, six terminals around the world were recognized for their exceptional architecture, sustainability, and passenger experience. Here’s a look at each winner—and a bit of context about what makes them special.
- Yantai Penglai International Airport – Terminal 2
Yantai, China
Opened in June 2024, this brand-new terminal is a major expansion to the existing airport, adding capacity for over 20 million passengers per year. The judges were impressed by the abundant natural light and thoughtful, sensory-driven design blending sustainability with regional aesthetics. - Marseille Provence Airport – Terminal 1
Marignane, France
This award honors the June 2024 reopening of Terminal 1 after a massive renovation and expansion project. The new design, by Foster + Partners, restores and modernizes the airport’s original 1960s architecture with skylights, timber canopies, and open views of the Provençal countryside. - Roland Garros Airport – Arrivals Terminal
Réunion Island, France
This is a new, bioclimatic arrivals terminal that opened in early 2024. Built with local wood and designed for the tropical climate, it uses natural ventilation and a central thermal chimney to regulate temperature, earning praise for sustainability and community involvement (91% of contractors were local). - Kansai International Airport – Terminal 1
Osaka, Japan
Originally designed by Renzo Piano, Terminal 1 reopened in March 2025 after a complete renovation by Populous. It preserves the original architecture while increasing capacity and incorporating modern touches like natural materials and high-tech queue management, just in time for the Osaka World Expo. - Portland International Airport – Main Terminal
Portland, United States
Unveiled in August 2024, this brand-new terminal is inspired by the natural landscapes of Oregon. Its massive timber roof and forest-like layout create a calming experience for passengers. It was also praised for its sustainable sourcing, as materials were harvested within 500 kilometers of the site. - San Francisco International Airport – Terminal 1
San Francisco, United States
The final phase of the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 reconstruction wrapped up in June 2024. This rebuild transformed the space into a light-filled, art-forward terminal that emphasizes comfort and civil rights heritage. Judges highlighted the integrated SFO Museum and local craftsmanship throughout the space.
Unlike rankings that rate entire airports based on amenities or customer satisfaction, the Prix Versailles awards are more narrowly focused—they often celebrate a specific aspect of an airport. So, just because a terminal wins, that doesn’t mean the rest of the airport is equally beautiful (we’re looking at you, SFO traffic circle).
One noticeable theme among this year’s winners is the use of natural, locally sourced materials to ground the terminals in a sense of place. In Portland, that meant a soaring mass timber roof made from regional forests. In Marseille, it was a revival of the airport’s mid-century roots using warm wood and glass to frame views of the Provençal countryside. Even in far-flung Réunion Island, native wood and climate-adapted ventilation helped the new arrivals terminal blend seamlessly with its tropical surroundings. These aren’t just design choices—they’re cultural statements that help airports reflect the regions they serve.
America’s Airports Are Finally Getting Their Glow-Up
It’s also worth noting that two of this year’s winners are right here in the United States: Portland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport. That’s a big deal. For years, U.S. airports have lagged behind their global counterparts in terms of design, comfort, and overall wow factor.
But in the past few years, we’ve seen a serious shift. From LaGuardia’s massive overhaul to stunning new terminals in Kansas City and Orlando, the U.S. is finally investing in airports that feel modern, functional, and—dare we say—beautiful. These 2025 wins for Portland and San Francisco are just the latest proof that America’s airport renaissance is well underway.
How This Year Compares to 2024
In 2024, Prix Versailles presented its awards in a slightly different manner, utilizing multiple categories rather than a single unified list. Here’s how last year looked:
- World’s Most Beautiful Airport: Zayed International Airport – Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Special Prize – Interior: Changi Airport Terminal 2 – Singapore
- Special Prize – Exterior: Suvarnabhumi Airport Midfield Satellite 1 – Bangkok, Thailand
- World Selection Finalists:
- Felipe Ángeles International Airport – Zumpango, Mexico
- Logan International Airport Terminal E – Boston, United States
- Kansas City International Airport – Kansas City, United States
Final Thought
Airports can be chaotic and stressful, but when they’re designed with thought, light, and sustainability in mind, they can become places that calm, inspire, and even delight. These six stunning terminals show how the right combination of design and function can transform the travel experience.
Now if they could just do something about those airport food prices…
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
Just felt it worthwhile to mention that Portland has, in fact, done something about airport food prices. Businesses in the airport (which are all local businesses) are not allowed to sell items at a higher price than their “in town” branches. Now this local focus means the food won’t necessarily be “cheap”, but at least you aren’t getting ripped off/scammed for a $9 water bottle, and supporting local businesses all the while!
At least LAX and SFO finally connected all of their terminals,.., THo SFO just tore up Term 3 where the very nice and large Centurion Lounge was located.. now it had to ,move and is tiny… for over 2 long years or more.. The funny thing is that T-3 looked better then the >>>Term1.5 that Delta uses..