The Main Terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia was completed in 1962 to a design by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, one of his last major works before his death that same year. Its most distinctive feature is a sweeping, catenary-curved roof suspended between rows of outward-leaning concrete piers, a lightweight tensile structure intended to give the building a sense of soaring flight suited to its function as an airport terminal. Saarinen designed the terminal around an early version of the mobile lounge, wheeled vehicles that carried passengers directly from the terminal to aircraft parked on the tarmac, a system meant to let the terminal itself remain compact while the airport's operations expanded around it. The building was named a National Historic Landmark in 2016, one of relatively few purpose-built airport terminals to receive that designation, recognizing its place within Saarinen's body of work, which also includes New York's TWA Flight Center.
Facts
Building Type LocationDulles, Virginia, United States 1 Completed Year Classification
Standing Status Building Type
Building Type (category)Transport Terminal (Airport, Ferry, etc.) 2 Connections
Has Building Type
Entity-backed identity for the building-type enum value this building already carries, resolved to an architecture concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The building-type fact itself stays on the building unchanged.
In Style
Source Wikipedia: Dulles International Airport Main Terminal
Uses Element
Source Wikidata: Washington Dulles International Airport Main Terminal
Source Wikidata: Washington Dulles International Airport Main Terminal
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dulles International Airport Main Terminal
Description, paragraph 1
one of several terminal structures at Dulles Airport
Infobox, location
Dulles International Airport, Dulles, Virginia, United States
Introduction, sentence 2
completed in 1962
Entity description and the lead/infobox of the Wikipedia article
The Main Terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia was completed in 1962 to a design by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, one of his last major works before his death that same year. Its most distinctive feature is a sweeping, catenary-curved roof suspended between rows of outward-leaning concrete piers, a lightweight tensile structure intended to give the building a sense of soaring flight suited to its function as an airport terminal. Saarinen designed the terminal around an early version of the mobile lounge, wheeled vehicles that carried passengers directly from the terminal to aircraft parked on the tarmac, a system meant to let the terminal itself remain compact while the airport's operations expanded around it. The building was named a National Historic Landmark in 2016, one of relatively few purpose-built airport terminals to receive that designation, recognizing its place within Saarinen's body of work, which also includes New York's TWA Flight Center.
- In Style: Mid-Century Modern Architecture, infobox architectural_style field: Mid-century modern
View the Source2. Wikidata: Washington Dulles International Airport Main Terminal
- Wikidata Q136544402, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Uses Element: Glass, Infobox material field: Glass, metal, concrete
- Uses Element: Concrete, Infobox material field: Glass, metal, concrete
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