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Art of the Airport Tower | Carolyn Russo | Via

Airport towers are to planes as lighthouses are to ships, but they don’t get nearly the fanfare. Most people barely notice them, but Carolyn Russo sees beauty in them. She’s spent nine years photographing the hulking giants of aviation for her series Art of the Airport Tower.

Croydon Airport was one of the first to pioneer radio-transmitted air traffic control in the 1920s. Since then, towers have played a key role choreographing arrivals and departures at airports around the world. The structures often are stunning, even futuristic, yet ignored by all but those who work in them. “I wanted to bring these towers to the forefront and show their significance,” she says.

Russo grew fascinated by their beauty after flying into LaGuardia Airport in 2006. As the plane descended, she noticed an odd concrete tower, its facade pocked with round windows reminiscent of Swiss cheese. “I realized the beauty encapsulated in this structure and began my search to explore other towers,” she says.

She’s since photographed 85 towers in 23 countries, soon to be published as a photo book. Together, the photos chart the evolution of what Russo calls aviation’s “unsung hero.” She spent endless hours googling locations, seeking particularly unique towers. Russo realized there are a wide variety of styles, determined by age, location and cultural influence. Older towers tend to be short and squat because airports were smaller then. As airfields expanded, towers grew. Architects brought a wide range of styles, and their towers call to mind different things. The tower at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York made Russo think of a swan, while the one at Paris Orly International Airport resembles a shuttlecock.