From May 26 – November 25, 2018, the NC State College of Design was invited to exhibit student works from Professor Wayne Place‘s airport design studio during the 16th International Architecture Exhibition, the 2018 Venice Biennale, at Palazzo Bembo in Venice, Italy. Student teams developed “airports of the future” for five global destinations: Brazil, China, Iran, Madagascar, and New Zealand. This studio has been graciously supported by Curt Fentress and Fentress Architects, who is shared exhibition space during the Venice Biennale. This publication honors the history of the studio and the Best Architecture University Project Award 2018, for recognition of the studio work, “Airports of the Future: Global Design Thinking,” and for contributing to the research, highlighting the significance of airport space, and the value of the experiential journey.