Aviation View | April 2021

19 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 The terminal experience is centered on efficient movement from curbside to gate and back, with opportunities to create memorable experiences through design and technology along the way. With a laser sharp focus on passenger experience, Gensler’s recent terminal designs script a more traveler-centric story with an emphasis on sense of place and culture — providing features such as museum outposts, gardens, grand landscape views, yoga rooms, and Virtual Reality Lounges, which historically have not been integrated into the terminal fabric. With the convergence of these various non-aviation functions into the overall travel experience, Gensler sees a shifting paradigm in airport terminals, that if activated with these functions, can be the new town square. Typically found in the heart of a downtown core, a town square has a mix of program elements and amenities that weave together the threads of a city and its people. By integrating these types of functions — whether it be a curated mix of local retail and F&B, performances from celebrated community organizations, or outdoor fire pits— into the design of an airport, we have an opportunity to create a tailored experience for travelers and locals. An experience that gives the airport a re-purposed role — a place where people want to gather, not necessarily tied to arriving or leaving. This design point of view was a primary driver behind the concept for Gensler’s Skyport Mobility Hub concept, which focuses on a town square design approach to draw the local community to the hub as a place to gather, disguising the transportation aspects of the facility by wrapping it with retail, dining, and healthcare functions. For Eagle County Regional Airport, the use of a central hearth provides an opportunity for visitors to interact while sitting around a fire conversing, eating, or relaxing. In our Confidential Ground-up Terminal Vision, we created a town square that serves as a culmination of community and traveler gathering, using open plazas and lush landscaped areas integrated with transit and bordered by dining and retail establishments — a setting within the airport, but meant for a much wider group of users. The opportunity to impact current terminal paradigms and thinking is upon us, to make airports community-centric and welcoming to all. By Tim Hudson Tim Hudson is a Global Aviation Practice Area Leader based in Dallas, TX. tim_hudson@gensler.com 214.866.2450 “ ” Airport design is reflective of a complex overlay of individual functions thatwhen in sync, act together in harmony to create an orchestrated, seamless travel experience.