IIDA Perspective - Spring 2018 - 46

Room to Grow
This call for customization also is making it
easier for designers to make choices that will help
these spaces remain relevant. "A critical success
MICHELLE BIGGAR, factor for airports is to design for easy future
BBE-ID, LEED-CI, RID expansion and incorporate expansion thinking
into the design itself," says Michelle Biggar,
BBE-ID, LEED-CI, RID, principal, office of mcfarlane
biggar architects + designers, Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada. "This can influence several factors, from building

Photo by: (Biggar)t Trevor Brady

width, and location of the table were key to making it
meet their needs," she says.
Other designers are taking a similar approach in
the open terminal areas, installing more intimate
arrangements of soft seating to create a sense of privacy.
"For personal space reasons, no one wants to sit side by
side in a row of seats next to strangers," Walsh says. By
angling seats away from each other in triangular settings,
it creates more personal space and greater utilization of
the seats available. These configurations may take up
more room, but passengers are less likely to
blockade adjacent seats with bags, which means
more of them will get occupied, he says.

The design for the new terminal at the Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol features additional space beneath its checkin plateau to accommodate potential advancements in
security technology, such as facial recognition systems.

Photo by: chombosan/thinkstock

AIRPORT TERMINALS MAY LAST FOR DECADES, BUT DESIGN
MOVEMENTS COME AND GO. EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON
WHAT'S HOT AND WHAT'S NOT IN AIRPORT DESIGN.

ARRIVING SOON

ON TIME

Facial recognition software. Airports,
including New York, New York, USA's
John F. Kennedy International Airport
and Changi Airport in Singapore, are
piloting biometric facial recognition
software to screen passengers moving
through terminals. "Soon we may have
biometrics that scan every passenger
as they enter the airport,"
says Kees Kaan,
director, Kaan
Architecten. "If
a passenger is
dubious, they
will get picked
out before they
even arrive at
security."

Local flair. Airport owners want their
spaces to be an extension of their cities,
featuring local restaurants, artists,
and design choices that reflect the
native culture
and geography.
For example,
Gensler's use of
exposed wood
beams represents
the legacy of
local shipbuilders
in the Jackson
Hole Airport in
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA.
"We integrate the character, culture,
and geography of the people and place
into every airport project we do," says
Thom Walsh, principal and director of
airports, Fentress Architects.

perspective

iida.org/perspective

Security as art. Concerns about
terrorism are forcing architects and
designers to incorporate massive
bombproof barriers into designs. Rather
than viewing these features as an
eyesore, Ty Osbaugh, firmwide aviation
and transportation practice area leader
at Gensler, envisions a future where
these structures become art installations.
"There is a design opportunity there to
make something beautiful," he says.

http://www.iida.org/perspective

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Spring 2018