Sense of Place — New dialogues for airport design
State of Design Satellite Event
Tuesday 22 July 2008, RMIT Gallery
Nearly sixty designers attended “Sense of Place: New Dialogs for Airport Design” a State of Design satellite event presented by the Retail Design Institute in partnership with Design Victoria and host RMIT Gallery.
Key presenters included David Holm and Matt Findlay, Principals from Woodhead Architects. Key topics discussed included the observed trends apropos the retail experience Woodhead has created at Changi Airport’s terminal three.
Presentation Overview
Retail centres and city centres are historically connected. The early city ‘high’ street - a linear shopping strip – developed into the shopping centre or emporium of the consumerist mid 20th century.
Today, contemporary retail urban trends have developed towards integration with the airport and other major transport nodes. Airports have reinvented themselves to become mixed use urban centres including retail, for both the traveller and non-traveller.
The airport as ‘place’ has progressed within our society over the last century. From the pioneers of early flight to the wonder of the jet age, the airport has grown beyond the super-remote [outside the city], to the transport node based “city-integrated-airports”. The future of airports, as part of the cities urban fabric, will need to be embraced and resolved to satisfy commercial, community and environmental stakeholders.
Airports of the future will incorporate; brown field, mixed use facilities, transit oriented developments with a civic focus, human scale and a sense of place. Designing for airports as the ‘new civic place’ will consider the integration of broad often conflicting functions and a sense of place or brand. The passenger or user experience is achieved through the built environment, and the provision of successful retail planning thus revenue.
Efficient modern airport design will:
- Integrate corporate, social and design visions
- create sense of place or brand
- provide enjoyable & memorable journey experiences
- consider that design enhances revenue / experience
…design optimises the civic presence…
25 August 2008