Beehive, Gatwick Airport

The Beehive is the original terminal building at Gatwick Airport, England. Opened in 1936, it became obsolete in the 1950s as the airport expanded.[1] In 2008 it was converted into serviced offices, operated by Orega, having served as the headquarters of franchised airline GB Airways for some years before that. It was the world's first fully integrated airport building, and is considered a nationally and internationally important example of airport terminal design.[2] The Beehive is a part of the City Place Gatwick office complex.[3] The 20000 sqft former terminal building is on a 2 acre site.[4]

History

In September 1933 A. M. (Morris) Jackaman, who owned several light aircraft, bought Gatwick Aerodrome for £13,500 (2023 equivalent £1.02 million).

Architecture

The terminal was designed by architects Hoar, Marlow and Lovett (job architect Alan Marlow) in accordance with the design concept provided by Morris Jackaman. It was built from steel reinforced concrete frames with internal brickwork walls,[2] and has been described as a good example of the 1930s trend whereby concrete was used instead of steelwork as the main material for buildings intended to project a "modern" impression.[12] A Vierendeel girder with six supports runs around the first floor roof.[13]

As originally built, the interior consisted of concentric rings of rooms and offices with corridors between them,[2] designed to keep arriving and departing passengers separate.[14] Six telescopic covered corridors led from the main concourse, allowing six aircraft to be in use at one time. A subway led from the terminal to the new station, 130 yd away, ensuring that passengers arriving by train from London stayed undercover from the time they arrived at Victoria station until the time their aircraft reached its destination.[6][5]

The building rises from one storey in the exterior ring to three in the centre. This central section originally contained a control tower, weather station and some passenger facilities; the main passenger circulating area surrounded it on the storey below. Baggage handling also took place on this floor. A restaurant and offices were on the ground floor in the outermost ring. The ground and first floors have windows of various sizes at regular intervals, while the former control tower was glazed all around.[2] Changes have been made to the internal layout since the conversion of the building to offices.

The design has been described as innovative and revolutionary,[1] and The Beehive is recognised as having been the UK's first integrated airport building, combining all necessary functions in a single structure.[2][15] It was the first airport to give direct, undercover access to the aircraft,[14] and the first to be integrated with a railway station.

pushpin map	United Kingdom Crawley
building type	Former airport terminal
architectural style	Art Deco
location	City Place Gatwick, Crawley, West Sussex, England
address	Beehive Ring Road, Gatwick Airport, RH6 0PA
owner	Bland Group
current tenants	Various
coordinates	51.14417°N, -0.16333°W
construction start date	July 1935
completion date	1936
inauguration date	6 June 1936
floor count	3
architect	Alan Marlow
architecture firm	Hoar, Marlow and Lovett

Beehive, Gatwick Airport

History

Architecture

Current use

See also

External links

References