Building & Design Blog

Daring is fine I guess... but when the roof falls in like at Paris De Galle, then maybe a more mundane design is appropriate.

The principle for the roof was fine. It was in the detail that mistakes came about. Probably due to incomplete checking procedures. The full report is still to come out.

To the other side of the Charles de Gaulle airport, terminal 2F is a brilliant example of aspirational design and has excellent functionality for both aircraft and passengers (except for transit passengers - this can be a nightmare).

I avoid de Gaulle as much as possible. I have had nothing but travel misery there. Amsterdam Schiphol on the other hand is a wonderful airport. Well run and not a bad layout.

I have also enjoyed the airport here in my new home Kuala Lumpur. Very nice design, and relatively efficient.

The traveler wants convenience and a quick pass through, the exorbitant design of an Airport is less important. most airports are just showcasing for the local government as a prestige project(well in Japan anyway)

I've been in just two airports in Japan, both as points to change airplanes on my way somehwere else. During the first stop, we were herded [deliberate choice of term!] through blank white corridors with uniformed people (guards?) on mezzanines above us, then past checkpoints where our carry-on luggage was inspected and we were questioned about our travel plans. I got a clear impression that we were not welcome nor wanted. The wait for the second plane was short, so the lack of amenities where we waited to board was unimportant.

On the next trip through, different city, the corridors were nicer and lacked the mezzanines & guards. It seemed much nicer, until we reached the waiting room for a three hour layover. There were fewer seats than passengers, so some of us sat against walls on the carpet - not a big deal. There were vending machines for snacks and beverages, labelled only in Japanese (which I found strange, in an international airport where likely MOST flights go elsewhere). Not a big problem; the pictures would have let me find something acceptable - and I'm always open to trying new things. The machines only took Japanese money, but there were no money-changers within the area where we were! IF I had known this in advance, I could have exchanged some money in Taipei, and been prepared, but most of us there had the same problem. I had spent nearly five hours in line in Taipei, because I was leaving on one of the last flights out before Chinese New Year, and the terminal there was incredibly crowded, so it had been quite a while since I'd had anything to eat or drink, and this would have also been true for anyone else who had departed from Taipei. This may account for the passenger-to-seat ratio.

Since I had seen nothing of Japan during the earlier trip due to an interior seat and the windowless corridors, I was happy to see large glass walls around the waiting room. They showed revetments (walls to deflect jet blast upward, and in a couple of spots I could see trees a couple of kilometers away across dead flat ground, but that was all. Boring!!! This, by the way, was before 9-11, so I'm sure that security measures have only made it worse. I hope SOMEone has had the sense to add money-exchanging facilities, or perhaps human-staffed food vending . . .

Ron

I've worked ten years out of my life on airports. Typically I worked for FBOs providing service and fuel. My experiences working for Piedmont Airlines were horrible.

My lifetime goal is to create a nation of airports, so I've thought about airport design, and have some favorite airport designs.

As grandiose as my lifetime goal is, you would think that I would like the grandiose airport structures, but in general, I don't.

Frankly what I want is standardization as you find in typical supermarket design, especially within chains, but even across the board there are typical layouts for supermarkets.

For instance in the case of supermarkets: you walk in. Fruits and vegetables and meats are on the right, first and foremost, and then to the left is most all the other stuff. Typically they are not standard as far as where they put the beer, though typically you will either find it next to the vegetables meat and bread, or as far from that section, as possible.

Regardless of the grandiosity of a place dedicated to travel, at its ideal, it is best if it is as instantly understandable as any sidewalk.

My favorite airport actually was Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International. Part of what influences my love of that particular airport is that it has, or had, a perimeter road, and was about the right size for workers, and passengers.

Of really large airports I am fond of OHara in Chicago.

These days I'm real interested in Modular crane moved and assembled or easily altered Airport designs.

If you want to impress people, put a sculpture in the yard, and hang art on the walls, but otherwise help them get where they need to go.

I have to admit that I love Grand Central Station in New York, but I see some real differences between airports and train stations that influence me to see great airports as more terminals, than destinations in themselves.

(Grand Central Station sure does strike a fine balance of the Grand, combined with the mundane, and as a permanent place gives great lessons to anyone attempting to build a transportation hub. It truly is deserving of its name.)

You do have to admit that from one airport to the next, there is a good deal of standardization, and overall, the aviation community does a pretty good job internationally.

P.S. My bottom line is that when going to the airport, I want the airplane to be as easy to get on as possible, and reject airports that think of themselves as the destination. I am not in the airport to take long walks.

T,

I admire your dedication to the idea of standardization. Having worked as a quality manager with ISO, I tend to view your entire objective as falling under the same paradigm as ISO. Read this article about the Spirit of ISO

I think that your efforts should be aimed at generating a document which outlines the spirit of airport design, and some supporting examples/justifications for those tenets. Basically ask the question (on CR4 also?) What Are The Features That Should Be Common To All Airports?

and then try to write down the spirit of those features. (if you haven't been working on this already)

and then secondly, create a compliance organization that issues certification based on evidentiary audits of the designs, implementations, and ongoing operations.

It is more than just architecture and electro-mechanicals, it is also people and training.

Chris

in reply to all, but with some words for the #3 reply --

I too have been thru Toyko's 'welcome party' for those who are only passing through. You missed a point or two. You failed to mention that you were laying over not STOPPING, to the non-traveler, this means dropping off passengers and picking up new ones. I was on the ground there two hours once, traveling from Seoul to the US, we had to get off the plane, being told to take ALL of our carry-on with us, while we were being herded, ground crews went thur the plane, seat by seat, pocket by pocket and anything left on the plane by passengers was confiscated. Back to the herd- we were ushered out through the same stark walls and sudo-guards to a point where we were told we had entered Japan and now needed to get in line to go thru customs - as we were now getting ready to depart Japan. Wish I'd known, I would have arranged my stay as to have actually seen something. When I was checked at customs they did not stamp my passport with an entry visa. Yet, in my carry-on, I had some expensive gifts for my wife, still in original packaging. These I had to PAY a Japanese tax on before I could re-board my flight and regain my seat.

All I could figure out was that Japan has figured out that they can collect funds from travelers if they get off the plane.

The stewerdess's advised us that there were certain duty free items available for sale in flight, however they advised us that if we purchased the limited items and were not terminal in Japan, they would hold distribution to us continuing the flight until after we stopped in Japan to save us from being taxed on these items. I now go out of my way to skirt around Japan and have passed up opportunities to visit just on the bad taste that stopping in the airport has left.

kuwait City is very busy and has outgrown the capabilities on the international flights passenger loading. and DIRTY!

Dubai - everybody needs to go thru there at least one time, just to see the City from the air once. The airport tires me, the layovers always seem to be hours and hours for me there, never just 90 minutes. I am going thru day after tomorrow and my flights are 12 hours apart. If you are not an American, you can expect to pay up to $200 in bribes to get thru a change of planes and the brief layover in this airport.

Amsterdam - I agree with the comments made, but then- who cares, The airport terminal is only a few minutes ride on the transit from 'The District'. Last time I was there... Hmmm ... What airport? ...

For the really adventurous - land in Baghdad - Your plane shuts down all lights, when you cross the national border, Interior and EXTERIOR MARKERS, including the little emergency exit lights, wanting to make themselves as difficult to see from the ground as they can. They circle and hold prior to the final approach at a much higher altitude than you are acustomed to. This is reasonably normal flying - until they get clearance to land. At this point the pilot banks to the point the passengers are holding on just to stay in their seats and the plane dives, Stukka, style for the runway. The only thing missing is the WWII movie Stukka dive whistle sound effect.

Once on the ground, the guards are very suspicous and have an attitude that you are an inconvience in thier day, and want to know every detail of your business, you will need a letter of authorization issued by your government to enter the country, your passport and various other ID's.

The Terminal in Basrah is very clean, laid out very nicely and will become a hub as Iraq recovers. However they seem confused about the use of a concourse. You pass through two or three baggage checks and ID checks then sit in the terminal concourse waiting your flight. However, the plane you fly on will always be at the opposite end of the tarmac and you will mount a bus at the concourse to be taken to your departure aircraft.