New plans have been introduced to turn London's Heathrow Airport into a mid-sized city. If those plans ever come to fruition, "Heathrow City" would support some 90,000 jobs and 190,000 people, according to Business Insider. It could also add as much as $13 billion to the U.K. economy.
Three proposals have been put forward for the ambitious plan, which include a factory for customizable homes, civic centers, and a "medieval" city center.
These plans will only be explored further if a new airport is built along the Thames Estuary. There are plans for that, too, but it's still uncertain if they'll ever come to fruition. The U.K.'s Airports Commission will decide on the Thames airport plan in September.
Proposal 1: Hawkins/Brown
Hawkins/Brown's idea for Heathrow City include the U.K.'s first airship port, a factory for customizable homes to fill housing demands in the area, and a large park on the airport's former runways, called the Green Belt.
Proposal 2: Maccreanor Lavington
This plan involves a technology campus, a civic center, a retail hub, and Heathrow's Terminal 2, as well as rehabilitating the airport's grounds and planting trees.
Proposal 3: Rick Mather Architects
In this third proposal, former runways would divide the city into different sections based on specializations like education and leisure. It also calls for a medieval city made of existing and new buildings.
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Federal Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
HOK, SmithGroupJJR, PageSoutherlandPage top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest federal government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Government Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Clark Group, Turner, PCL head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest government sector contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Government Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, URS, AECOM top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest government sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
Top Government Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest government sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 18, 2013
GSA regains stature under Tangherlini, who looks to trim its holdings, cut energy costs [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Over the past 15 months, Acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini has done a creditable job of restoring the agency’s standing with Congress and the public.
| Jul 2, 2013
LEED v4 gets green light, will launch this fall
The U.S. Green Building Council membership has voted to adopt LEED v4, the next update to the world’s premier green building rating system.
| Jul 1, 2013
Report: Global construction market to reach $15 trillion by 2025
A new report released today forecasts the volume of construction output will grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.