While Eero Saarinen’s iconic TWA Terminal at JFK airport will soon be turned into a hotel, another airport by the mid-century Finnish architect which was designed in Athens during the same time, is in a dangerous state. Now in the hands of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), Saarinen’s Athens airport is a key part of the largest fire-sale in history. The HRADF was established in July 2011 to help the Greek state divest itself of real estate assets in order pay off its debt. The semi-derelict airport site, which also hosted part of the Athens Olympics in 2004, is thus one of the main symbols of Greece’s current financial predicament. |