Flexible Design of Airport Spaces

The Architectural Research Thesis

FLEXIBLE DESIGN OF AIRPORT SPACES A study on augmenting the holdroom experiences of the travelers Thesis 2020-21

by

YASHI KEYUR CHAPATWALA (2016-2021) Guided by

AR. AZAZ CALCUTTAWALA

BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE (B.Arch.V. SEM IX) December 2020

A.A.E.R.T. & S.S.B. FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE Sarvajanik College of Engineering & Technology (SCET) Dr. R.K. Desai Marg, Opp. Mission Hospital, Athwalines, Athwa, Surat, Gujarat 395001

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that YASHI KEYUR CHAPATWALA has submitted the Report of Research Thesis on the subject Flexible Design of Airport Spaces as a mandatory requirement for the completion of B. Arch. V. Sem IX, at AAERT & The SSB, Faculty of Architecture, Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology (SCET), Surat, for the academic year 2020-2021. Her work is found to be satisfactory for the purpose.

Yashi Chapatwala Name of the Student Signature

Prof. Rikta Desai

Prof. Alpa Pandya

(Research Thesis Coordinator)

(Research Thesis Coordinator)

Ar. Azaz Calcuttawala Research Thesis Guide

Prof. Persi Engineer Principal, Faculty of Architecture, SCET, Surat

Year: 2016-2021 Date:21/12/2020

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following people, without whom I would not have been able to complete this research. I am heartily thankful to my guide Azaz Calcuttawala whose insight and knowledge into the subject matter steered me through this research. As a mentor, he has helped me with his insights and constructive criticism from the very beginning till the end.

I am also thankful to the thesis co-ordinators at S.C.E.T. for their constant support. I would also like to thank Mr. Sunil Kumar (Civil Engineer/Planner-Airport Authority of India) who is the project manager at the Surat Airport for sharing his knowledge in the field and whose knowledge helped me understand it more thoroughly.

Special thanks to Prof. Persi Engineer, H.O.D., ARCHITECTURE DEPT., S.C.E.T., Surat. I want to extend my gratitude to the people, who took the time to return my surveys. And to my colleagues and friends, who have supported me throughout this research. I would like to express my gratitude to my family for all the support and encouragement, they have shown towards me throughout this research.

ii

ABSTRACT

Airport terminals go through frequent transformations to remain up to date with technological advancements as well as changes in the aviation industry. The ever-growing aviation industry requires airport terminals to be planned in a way that should allow flexible operating conditions.

Building a new airport or a new terminal is not always the answer. How to adjust in the same given space raises the challenge and that’s where the idea of flexible design can take over. The significance of “flexible design” has been identified by various researchers and architects, and several flexible design techniques have been derived. But still, they just touch the tail of the problem. Over its life span, the airports become more and more dull, mundane, and worn out.

The idea of flexibility is not only to cater to the changing needs of aviation but also to enhance user experience every time a person visits an airport.The current research proposes a design framework to create flexible options for the holdrooms at an airport.

Holdrooms mark an end of the airport departure processes; where the passengers can finally relax and look forward to their journey. However, these spaces always fail to provide comfort to its users. Throughout the years the design of the lounges has not changed and hence needs to be upgraded. Not only for the better user experience but also for the better performance of the airport.

This research talks about the problems and factors related to the design of gate lounges. It also tries to understand the plea of the travelers and their experiences and needs for the given space.

After analyzing the above factors, certain design suggestions have been included.

iii

iv

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ iii CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH OVERVIEW .............................................................. 1 1.1

BACKGROUND--------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

1.1.1 AIRPORT TERMINAL-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.1.2 FLEXIBILITY AS A DESIGN CONCEPT -------------------------------------------- 3 1.1.2.1

TYPES OF FLEXIBILITY ------------------------------------------------------------------3

1.2

RESEARCH QUESTIONS --------------------------------------------------------- 4

1.3

AIM AND OBJECTIVE------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1.4

SCOPE OF RESEARCH ----------------------------------------------------------- 4

1.5

LIMITATION OF RESEARCH ---------------------------------------------------- 5

1.6

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --------------------------------------------------- 5

1.7

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE ----------------------------------------------------- 7

1.8

OUTLINE OF THESIS ------------------------------------------------------------- 7

CHAPTER 2: AIRPORT TERMINAL DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW .................... 8 2.1

THE TERMINAL COMPONENTS ------------------------------------------------ 8

2.2

DEFINING THE HOLDROOMS------------------------------------------------- 10

2.2.1 CLASSIFICATION OF WAITING AREAS ------------------------------------------ 11 2.2.1.1

HOLDROOM OR GATE LOUNGES --------------------------------------------------- 11

2.2.1.2

EXECUTIVE LOUNGES (airline lounges) --------------------------------------------- 11

2.2.1.3

AIRPORT LOUNGES --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12

2.2.2 DESIGN STANDARDS ------------------------------------------------------------------ 12

2.3

FACTORS DETERMINING THE LOAD FACTOR OF HOLDROOMS ---- 13

2.3.1 LoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 2.3.1.1

WHAT IS LoS? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

2.3.1.2

HOWS DOES IT AFFECT? -------------------------------------------------------------- 14

v

2.3.2 DESIGN FACTORS----------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 2.3.2.1

ENGAGEMENT FACILITIES (non-revenue generating) ---------------------------- 15

2.3.2.2

ENGAGEMENT FACILITIES (revenue generating) ---------------------------------- 17

2.3.2.3

WALKING DISTANCE TO GATES ---------------------------------------------------- 19

2.3.3 TYPE OF AIRCRAFT -------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 2.3.4 LOCATION OF THE AIRPORT ------------------------------------------------------- 24

2.4

LITERATURE REVIEW ----------------------------------------------------------- 25

2.4.1 BOOKS AND PAPERS------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 2.4.2 RESEARCHERS TAKE ON FLEXIBILITY ----------------------------------------- 25

2.5

FLEXIBILITY: AN OPTION OR A NECESSITY? ------------------------------ 28

CHAPTER 3: SIGNIFICANCE OF FORM......................................................... 29 3.1

CENTRALIZED TERMINAL BUILDINGS ------------------------------------- 30

3.1.1 FORM BASED CASE STUDIES ------------------------------------------------------- 32

3.2

3.1.1.1

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT T2 --------------------- 32

3.1.1.2

DAXING AIRPORT ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 35

LINEARLY CONFIGURED TERMINAL BUILDINGS ------------------------ 37

3.2.1 FORM BASED CASE STUDIES ------------------------------------------------------- 39 3.2.1.1

SIR SEEWOOSAGUR RAMGOOLAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ---------- 39

3.2.1.2

DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -------------------------- 40

CHAPTER 4: SURVEY ANALYSIS .................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 5: DESIGN SUGGESTIONS ............................................................. 45 5.1

DESIGN FLEXIBILITY ----------------------------------------------------------- 45

5.1.1 FLEXIBILITY IN EXPERIENCE ------------------------------------------------------ 45 5.1.2 FLEXIBILITY IN FUNCTIONALITY ------------------------------------------------ 47

5.2

PREVIOUSLY PROPOSEDGENERAL DESIGN STRATEGIES ------------- 47

5.2.1 SHARED USE FACILITIES ------------------------------------------------------------ 48 5.2.2 MOVEABLE/FOLDING PARTITIONS ---------------------------------------------- 48 5.2.3 LEVEL CHANGES ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 5.2.4 MODULARITY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 5.2.5 FUNCTIONALLY NEUTRAL SPACE ----------------------------------------------- 51

5.3

NEW DESIGN STRATEGIES ----------------------------------------------------- 52

5.3.1 TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS ------------------------------------------------------ 52

vi

5.3.2 INTERACTIVE DISPLAY SYSTEM-------------------------------------------------- 53 5.3.3 BIOMETRIC SCANNER SYSTEM---------------------------------------------------- 54 5.3.4 DYNAMIC FAÇADE DISPLAY ------------------------------------------------------- 54 5.3.5 FLEXIBLE SEATING ARRANGEMENT -------------------------------------------- 55

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 59 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................. 61 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................ 65

vii

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.1 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................ 6 FIGURE 2.1 PASSENGER FLOW AT THE AIRPORTS ....................................................... 10 FIGURE 2.2 GATE LOUNGE AT VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (L)................. 11 FIGURE 2.3 GATE LOUNGE AT ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (R) .................. 11 FIGURE 2.4 EXECUTIVE LOUNGE AT NEWCASTLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (L) ........ 12 FIGURE 2.5 ETIHAD BUSINESS CLASS LOUNGE AT ABU DHABI AIRPORT (R) ................ 12 FIGURE 2.6 TYPICAL HOLDROOM OF AN AIRPORT ...................................................... 13 FIGURE 2.7 WATER STREAM AT VANCOUVER AIRPORT(L).......................................... 16 FIGURE 2.8 AQUARIUM AT JEDDAH AIRPORT(R) ........................................................ 16 FIGURE 2.9 GARDENS AT CHANGI JEWEL (L) ............................................................. 16 FIGURE 2.10 CHINESE GARDEN AT NEW BEIJING DAXING AIRPORT (R) ..................... 16 FIGURE 2.11 CEILING INSTALLATION AT ATLANTA AIRPORT ...................................... 17 FIGURE 2.12 WATER SPRING AT NEW CHITOSE AIRPORT (L) ..................................... 18 FIGURE 2.13 INDOOR POOL AT DOHA AIRPORT (R) .................................................... 18 FIGURE 2.14 ICE RINK AT INCHEON(L) ...................................................................... 18 FIGURE 2.15 SURFING AT MUNICH AIRPORT(R)......................................................... 18 FIGURE 2.16 CSIA T2 LEVEL 3 (DEPARTURES) .......................................................... 20 FIGURE 2.17 CHANGI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LAYOUT .......................................... 21 FIGURE 2.18 LOCATION OF GARDENS AT BEIJING DAXING AIRPORT ........................... 22 FIGURE 2.19 AIRPORT TERMINAL LAYERS AS PROPOSED BY EDWARDS ....................... 26 FIGURE 3.1 PASSENGER MOVEMENT IN THE CENTRALIZED TERMINAL BUILDING ......... 30 FIGURE 3.2 PASSENGER DENSITY 2-3 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE .............................. 31 FIGURE 3.3 PASSENGER DENSITY ½ - 1 HOUR BEFORE DEPARTURE.............................. 32 FIGURE 3.4 CSIA T2 ................................................................................................ 33 FIGURE 3.5 CSIA T2 AERIAL VIEW ........................................................................... 33 FIGURE 3.6 WAITING AREA LAYOUT......................................................................... 34 FIGURE 3.7 HOLDROOM (CSIA T2) ........................................................................... 34 FIGURE 3.8 BEIJING DAXING AIRPORT ...................................................................... 35 FIGURE 3.9 WAITING AREA (DAX) ........................................................................... 36 FIGURE 3.10 WAITING AREA AT BEIJING DAXING AIRPORT ........................................ 36 FIGURE 3.11 PASSENGER MOVEMENT IN THE LINEAR TERMINAL BUILDING ................. 37

viii

FIGURE 3.12 PASSENGER DENSITY 2-3 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE ............................ 38 FIGURE 3.13 PASSENGER DENSITY ½ -1 HOUR BEFORE DEPARTURE ............................ 38 FIGURE 3.14 SSRIA ................................................................................................. 39 FIGURE 3.15 DISTRIBUTION OF CONCESSIONS ............................................................ 40 FIGURE 3.16 WAITING AREA (SSRIA) ...................................................................... 40 FIGURE 3.17 LAYOUT OF DFW ................................................................................. 41 FIGURE 4.1 CHART REPRESENTING THE WAITING AREA EXPERIENCE OF THE RESPONDENTS ................................................................................................... 42

FIGURE 4.2 CHART REPRESENTING RESPONDENTS VIEWS ON UPGRADING THE WAITING AREA................................................................................................................. 43

FIGURE 4.3 CHART REPRESENTING RESPONDENTS INTEREST IN ACTIVITIES ................ 44 FIGURE 5.1 MUNICH AIRPORT DURING CHRISTMAS ................................................... 46 FIGURE 5.2 QUEEN ALIA AIRPORT (L)....................................................................... 50 FIGURE 5.3 MODULAR DOMES AT QUEEN ALIA AIRPORT(R) ..................................... 50 FIGURE 5.4 NEW BEAM SEAT BY UFL ....................................................................... 51 FIGURE 5.5 (LEY FORM , N.D.)................................................................................ 51 FIGURE 5.6 INTERACTIVE DISPLAY PANEL................................................................. 53 FIGURE 5.7 INTERACTIVE DISPLAY PANEL................................................................. 53 FIGURE 5.8 OLED TRANSPARENT SCREENS .............................................................. 55 FIGURE 5.9 FAMILY TYPE SEATING AREA ................................................................... 56 FIGURE 5.10 WORK POD WITH AN ACOUSTIC FACILITY .............................................. 56 FIGURE 5.11 INDIVIDUAL SLEEPING PODS .................................................................. 57 FIGURE 5.12 VARIATION IN WAITING AREA DESIGN.................................................... 57 FIGURE 5.13 REFERENCE WAITING AREA DESIGN ....................................................... 58

ix

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1.1 GROWTH RATE OF AIRPORT 2017-18 .......................................................... 2 TABLE 2.1 LEVEL OF SERVICE FRAMEWORK.............................................................. 14 TABLE 2.2 IATA LOS STANDARDS........................................................................... 14 TABLE 2.3 AIRPLANE SEATING CAPACITY .................................................................. 23 TABLE 2.4 EVALUATION OF THE FLEXIBILITY OPTIONS ............................................... 28

x

xi

1

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

1.1

BACKGROUND

1.1.1

AIRPORT TERMINAL

An airport terminal is a building that accommodates a wide range of allied operations and facilities where the performance of any operation influences the other. Airport terminals are composed of large-scale, multi-stakeholder buildings that require an innovative design approach to tackle several strongly interacting services and stakeholders. To build airport facilities that will perform effectively over the 30 to 50 years of their lifetime, it is necessary to appreciate its context. Understanding the state of the airport/airline industry in the early twentyfirst century gives a perspective on its future. This is the starting point for a forward-looking text on airport systems planning(Nuefville & Odoni, 2002). The transformation in the airport terminal is driven by many factors, the major being: •

Tremendous growth and advancement in the aviation industry, increasing global demand- drive the demand for expansion and improvement leading to the development of more and more airports.

•

Political and economic deregulation at international as well as national levels such as open-skies agreements, changes in traffic patterns, increased competition, etc. marks an uncertain and insatiable future which makes it necessary for airports to adapt easily and flexibly.

•

Technology also continues to redefine the way airports do business. These developments increase the efficiency and the capacity of airport facilities and processes and airports need to adapt to these new opportunities as they occur.

•

Policymaking at the local level. The development, expansion, and construction of such types of buildings are greatly affected by the local/national level policymaking. With the changing status of the officials and governments, the policies keep getting reformed which might create a hindrance in the functioning of the terminals.

Other key issues in designing the terminal determine: Traffic Growth Projection, Peak hour projection, Level of Service, Unit construction cost, and Unit area norms (Ministry of Civil Aviation, 2009) Even though the airport expands gradually and systematically, the expansion is constrained by space and environmental factors. Traditionally, the design process has not reflected the volatility of airport traffic patterns and the associated uncertainties. Typical rigid planning does not respond well to these changing requirements and eventually results in airports that are inefficient in supporting commercial operations. As a result, the efficiency of airports

1

is to be met by new design concepts that could accommodate these uncertainties with possible design alternatives to tackle emerging challenges in airport terminal design. These changes are occurring more quickly than ever before, yet the process for dealing with this changing environment seems to be taking longer.

The table below shows a list of the top 10 fastest growing airports as of 2018. It shows the rate at which the demand for airports increases which in turn increases the passengers.

RANK

AIRPORT

COUNTRY

PASSENGERS

PASSENGERS

RATE

(in million)

(in million)

OF

(2018)

(2017)

INCREASE

1

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

6.2

4.5

38.4%

2

Jinjiang

China

8.1

6.2

31.9%

3

Semarang

Indonesia

5.7

4.4

29.6%

4

Bengaluru

India

32

25

28.7%

5

Lucknow

India

5.7

4.4

28.1%

6

Yantai

China

9.3

7.3

27.4%

7

Sevilla

Spain

6.3

5

25.9%

8

Novosibirsk

Russia

5.8

4.6

25.6%

9

Da Nang

Vietnam

11.6

9.3

24.4%

10

Hyderabad

India

22.6

18.3

23.6%

Table 1.1 Growth Rate of airport 2017-18 (Casey, 2019)

An airport terminal is a “complex building‟ whose usage could change widely during its lifetime. Provisions to accommodate such changes should be one of the most important factors in determining the performance of this building. Several researchers have identified that incorporating flexibility into the terminal design will help to reduce the risk of high costs of change, both financial and material, and will reduce uncertainties in adopting new technologies.

The concept of “flexible design‟ is intended to respond specifically to changing situations and operations. Continuous and rapid changes required in airport management to incorporate technological advancements warrant new approaches of design to allow for short to long-term flexibility in airport terminal development. A flexible design would help reduce both cost and material expenditure (Shuchi, 2015). The ones which are not able to deal with uncertainty in a

2

flexible way face significant risks in terms of overbuilding, underbuilding, mismatches between demand and supply, higher unit costs, or losses.

1.1.2

FLEXIBILITY AS A DESIGN CONCEPT

Flexibility is the ability to adapt to continuously changing requirements and conditions of the environment and respond to changing situations. It refers to the capacity of a building to accommodate substantial changes and create spaces that anticipate complex and changing requirements of human needs (Shuchi, 2015). A broad definition of a flexible building is a building that can adjust to changing needs and patterns, both social and technological (Bara, A, Wakawa, Umar, & Isa, 2017). According to Schneider & Till, the history of flexibility in architecture is dominated by a list of experiments that play directly with the rhetoric of flexibility. The objective of flexibility in the architecture is to provide spaces with simply changing structures with respect to changes in required performance and application.

The concept of flexibility has already been used in building design be it residential or institutional and we have seen obvious positive results for the same too. However, the concept of flexibility or adaptability has not gained much focus in the field of airport design. Very few rules, guidelines, or principles are currently available for incorporating flexibility into airport terminal designs. Flexibility in design generally enhances performance in complementary ways.

By mitigating the impact of future uncertainty, flexibility increases investment value and reduces the level of uncertainty (Shuchi, 2015).

1.1.2.1

TYPES OF FLEXIBILITY

Changing needs may be personal, practical, or technological. Many authors categorize flexibility in different forms to clarify the conceptual framework of the study better (Bara, A, Wakawa, Umar, & Isa, 2017).

•

Spatial flexibility

This flexibility is not only related to structural changes but the physical alteration occurring in the interior space.

•

Functional flexibility

The ability to change the condition without professional intervention. It is based on assigning new functions in redundant rooms, changing the room function, or the relationship between the rooms.

3

•

Character flexibility

The possibility of changing the façade or dwelling identity aspects of architectural quality. The ability to change the character of the building.

1.2

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Design flexibility in airport terminal layout has not been thoroughly investigated despite its advantages in various other fields. The primary objective of the current research is to understand what factors make it crucial to incorporate flexibility into the design. This frames the major research question: Why is there a need to incorporate the concept of flexibility into the airport terminal design?

This research focuses on the waiting areas of the departure terminal. Hence, it would focus on Why is there a need to upgrade the waiting area experience for the passengers and how can it be achieved?

Any design strategy would require a set of design guidelines. And based on the study and analyses of the factors the final research question raised would be: Is it possible to define a set of design parameters to evaluate flexibility in layouts?

1.3

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

This research aims to focus on the departure waiting areas of the airport terminal. The primary objective of this research is to address and understand the factors affecting the design of airport holdrooms. By understanding the need of the passengers and taking into light the need for the concept of flexibility, this research would try to generate design ideas for the same.

1.4

SCOPE OF RESEARCH

Flexibility is a tried and tested concept in the field of architecture and is sure shot to give positive results. However, it has not made its way through airport design. In our everyday life,

4

we observe rapid changes in technology; today’s technology could quickly become obsolete because new developments are continuously taking place to replace established technologies.

Yesterday’s state-of-art can be out-of-date tomorrow as a result of faster technological changes.

By mitigating the impact of future uncertainty, flexibility increases investment value and reduces the level of uncertainty. A better understanding of the value of flexibility or the ability to change will help to reduce the risk of the high cost of renovation by accommodating changing circumstances (Shuchi, 2015). It would provide a futuristic approach to a conventional design process and augment the way we look at things. A more flexible building will be utilized more efficiently and will stay in serviceable condition for a longer period as it can respond to changes in various stages of its life cycle (Shuchi, 2015).

As of today, this concept has not been able to make its way from paper to field. It is quite a complex process. Many researchers have worked on this field earlier as well and have been able to give certain guidelines in this direction.

This research also tries to understand flexibility in terms of experience rather than just in space making. A given space does not have to feel the same every time a person visits it. The research will also try to explore that factor and how it can be put into action.

It should be noted that the scope of the proposed research shall be limited to the departure holdrooms. This research will try to address the plight of the passengers using the holdrooms by understand its factors and addressing the changes that can be incorporated for the same.

1.5

1.6

LIMITATION OF RESEARCH

•

The research is carried out during a specific period of one academic semester.

•

The scope of fieldwork was negligible due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

•

The data collected is from a secondary source.

•

It was not possible to procure any real passenger data or perform a live study.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The current research is carried out on qualitative analysis/research techniques due to the coronavirus pandemic. A rigorous and comprehensive study on all available literature on the topics of flexible design and problems in the aviation industry was read and understood. The current research is also based on and backed by reviewed and scrutinized works of various

5

authors, publications, and articles. This research also analyzed and focused on the theories of various authors working in this similar field of research through their thesis, research papers, etc. The author has also gathered literature definitions of flexible design and identified examples and case studies of various airports. References from various travel blogs and travel reviews have also been taken. A small survey of about 100 people was also conducted to know the real passenger experience and for a better understanding of real passenger problems.

Following the analysis of previous researchers' work, this research also does an analytical study to give solutions to the raised questions. Primary data is acquired by the means of a survey and secondary data is based on the findings of articles and journals published online on various websites and with the references of the published books.

Figure 1.1 Overview of Research Methodology

6

1.7

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

Design flexibility in airport terminal layout has been worked on by various researchers. Many researchers highlighted the importance of flexibility in airport design, but no specific research is done for user experience. This research tends to develop a framework that would link the levels of flexibility to enhance the user experience. The focus is to understand the factors that would allow the management of future uncertainties to maximize expected value. This research shall also cope well to meet the ever-changing needs of an airport with minimum interruption.

The aim is to increase the functionality and bring to life the dull and mundane departure holdrooms which could enhance the user experience. With this concept been materialized, it would tend to increase airport efficiency and airport management to a higher level. The current research will tend to change the experience of airports. It will also open the sector to further discussions on enhancing the user experience and how the mundane looking lounges can be better designed by adapting to the technology and uncertainties of the industry.

1.8

OUTLINE OF THESIS

The outline of the research carried out is briefed down as below: Chapter One establishes a background for the research and briefs about the details and scope of the current research.

Chapter Two gives an overview of the design of the airport terminal building and defines in detail a list of factors with examples that shape the airport experience. These factors also help in understanding the load factor of the holdrooms. It also establishes if there is a need for design flexibility. It also elucidates and summarizes the work of various researchers in the field of airport terminal flexibility which offers knowledge about the progress in this field.

Chapter Three tries to understand how the form of the terminal building can affect the passenger movements which in turn affects the design of the waiting areas. It also gives examples of the airports categorized as per the form and the passenger movement.

Chapter Four analyses and summarizes the findings of the survey.

Chapter Fiveunderstands the term flexibility and usefulness of the previous approaches in current research. It attempts to form a set of design parameters based on pre-established problems and factors.

7

Chapter Six integrates all the data and infers a conclusion for the current research to establish a ground for further researchers and also defines the scope of further research in its continuation.

2

AIRPORT TERMINAL DESIGN: AN OVERVIEW

2.1

THE TERMINAL COMPONENTS

The primary users of airport terminals are airlines, air travelers, well-wishers, and a wide range of employees of airport management, government regulatory authorities, air carriers, concessionaires, and other airport tenants (ACRP-25, 2010). Airport passenger buildings serve various needs of different passengers including arriving, departing, and transferring passengers.

The design of an airport terminal is affected by the types of passengers and their needs.

However, maintaining a broad and balanced view of the planning process is the key to terminal planning that is functional today and flexible for the future. The design perspective differs substantially among different airports so there is no single set of design standards that is valid for all airports.

The terminal planning process should acknowledge the key functional and operational drivers, including business considerations that affect the airport and its operators, as well as the local community.

•

Quantity of check-in, immigration counters, and self-check-in kiosks should aim to envisage the influx of passengers and to maintain efficiency in the flow of passengers.

•

Concessions planning, which aims to provide interesting and pleasing offerings to passengers, and revenue generation for the airport

•

Security planning to respond both to a specific threat and vulnerability levels, as well as the routine screening process of passengers and baggage.

•

People mover and baggage handling systems.

•

The wide range of information technology-based systems that underpin overall management and maintenance of the building, and through which essential information and data are disseminated to passengers and staff.

•

The application of sustainability and demand management concepts.

8

Though it is the levels of service which determine the functionality and managing capacity of the airport. The level of service is usually described in terms of flow, delays, and level of comfort, where the standards of space are usually defined, giving an appropriate space per occupant. Higher LOS standards imply more space and inevitably more cost. The design standards for a terminal building depend on a variety of factors such as geography, topography, economy, scale, connectivity, etc., and based on those factors the authorities of respective countries have a pre-defined set of parameters. Yet, the components of the design remain pretty much the same.

From land to air and vice versa the terminal complex is separated into two major interfaces and components.

•

Components: Landside and airside

•

Interface: Processing system interface and flight system interface.

Passengers are considered to be on the “landside” unless they pass through the security/customs area of departures, or unless they have gone past the customs/quarantine area of Arrivals.

“Airside” is the sterile area after security/customs in departures or the area before the passenger leaves the customs/quarantine area of Arrivals.

The processing system refers to the processing of passengers and baggage during arrival and departure activities in a terminal, which includes ticketing, check-in, customs, security, immigration, etc. The flight interface consists of the departure lounge or holdroom, security facilities used for the inspection of passengers, airline operation space used for airline personnel, equipment, and activities related to arrival and departure of the aircraft (Shuchi, 2015).

Various domains that a passenger must pass through to board on their flights (departure) or after getting off (arrival) from the flight are presented in the figure below:

9

Figure 2.1 Passenger Flow at the Airports (Micheal Fedrick Design, n.d.)

The layout of an airport terminal has a significant role in achieving efficient passenger processing. Holdrooms are located on the airside of the processing and at the end of the entire departure journey.

2.2

DEFINING THE HOLDROOMS

The uncertainties about a travel plan are a significant source of stress to the passengers. Aside from the security hassles, there are concerns about food and rest amongst others that contribute to the overall travel experience. A passenger has to seek continually, throughout the journey, the answer to ‘what next’. On the other hand, airports face difficulties balancing between passenger comfort and operational efficiency. Travelling can be tiring for passengers with long layovers and flight delays especially when one has to spend a night at the airport. For travelers, waiting is often associated with an unpleasant activity.

The airports over the world have been keen on satisfying the four R’s - Respite, Relax, Reconnect, and Recharge for user comfort by trying to establish a good design of airport lounges. Airport holdrooms play an important role in making sure that the passengers relax before getting on to their flight. Waiting should be seen as not only an attempt to pass time but

10

an attempt to enjoy the time while anticipating what is coming out of it. Thus, it becomes essential to pay attention to its designing be it its lighting, ambiance, or the choice of seats.

2.2.1

CLASSIFICATION OF WAITING AREAS

After all the hassles through the terminal, the passengers would get an urge to become comfortable and relax. The passengers hold various options in front of them:

2.2.1.1

HOLDROOM OR GATE LOUNGES

All boarding areas have seating arrangements for passengers allowing them to arrive early and wait for boarding. However, the layout of the boarding domain varies among different airports.

Some airports have specifically allocated waiting for space for every flight, whereas, other airports use a common open space for passengers waiting to board various flights. A typical holdroom contains seating and standing areas for passengers, an airline agent check-in podium to handle passenger service issues (such as standby seat assignments), space for a boarding/deplaning queue, space for circulation within the holdroom, and other amenities that the airport or airline may wish to provide (ACRP-25, 2010).

Figure 2.2Gate Lounge at Vancouver International Airport (L) (Studio One Architects, n.d.)

Figure 2.3Gate Lounge at Abu Dhabi International Airport (R) (ALEC, n.d.)

2.2.1.2

EXECUTIVE LOUNGES (airline lounges)

Airline lounges were exclusive niches accessible only to the elite and the VIPs. They are paid services operated by various airlines at the airport usually located after the security on the airside for the passengers to rest their eyes before boarding. Its customers must hold first-class or business class tickets to their respective airline lounge. They can access lavish facilities which may include food, beverages, sleeping pods, tv rooms, etc.

11

Figure 2.4 Executive Lounge at Newcastle International Airport (L) (Ward Robinson, n.d.)

Figure 2.5 Etihad business class lounge at Abu Dhabi Airport (R) (Your travel group, UK, n.d.)

2.2.1.3

AIRPORT LOUNGES

In contrast to airline lounges, airport lounges are facilities that are open to any traveler traversing the airport, regardless of class of ticket or airline, subject to payment of a fee. These lounges also provide access amount of facilities similar to that of executive lounges.

2.2.2

DESIGN STANDARDS

The industry is not agreed on a standard for space devoted to holdrooms at the gate. What makes sense depends on how the airport and its airlines will operate the facility. In any case, designers should plan on accommodating passengers less than aircraft capacity. They do not have to provide all the waiting space for passengers at individual gates.

In some operational circumstances it might be necessary to provide individual gate lounges for a large fraction of aircraft capacity, the current practice generally makes this unnecessary. The amount to be provided depends greatly on the extent to which gates share common holdrooms.

The economically efficient design will plan on shared holdrooms and expect that many passengers will spend time outside these areas. Common departure holdroom areas are being sized based upon the total peak hour boarding passengers for the gates being served by the common lounge. Since boarding for these aircraft will likely occur at different times in the peak hour, the total space required for separate lounges may be reduced by 20 to 30 percent for common lounges (ACRP-25, 2010). A typical holdroom design as per the guideline of the Airport Authority has been shown in Figure 2.6 Typical Holdroom of an airport

12

Figure 2.6 Typical Holdroom of an airport (ACRP-25, 2010)

2.3

FACTORS DETERMINING THE LOAD FACTOR OF HOLDROOMS

The industry has not been able to agree on standards for space devoted to holdrooms at the gate because it has various affecting factors. The design load factor at each airport depends on various aspects of design, geography, economy, LoS, etc.

2.3.1 2.3.1.1

LoS WHAT IS LoS?

When evaluating and determining the overall airport performance, it is crucial to have a balanced view of the system from the perspective of different airport stakeholders and users.

Therefore, IATA 1and ACI2 have joined forces to provide an objective and unbiased analysis of the Level of Service (LoS) at airport terminal facilities. The joint assessment will determine the best possible solutions to optimize the LoS for the whole airport community. The IATA (International Air Transport Association) produced LOS definitions that most people use(ACRP-25, 2010):

IATA- International Air Transport Association is a trade association of world’s airlines founder in 1945. IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards 2ACI-Airports Council International is the global trade representative of the world's airport authorities. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports' interests with governments and international organizations, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and it provides information and training opportunities to raise the standards around the world.

1

13

LEVEL A

SERVICE CRITERIA

Excellent

condition of free flow; no delays; an excellent level of comfort.

High

B

condition of stable flow; very few delays; high level of comfort.

Good

C

condition of stable flow; acceptable brief delays; good level of comfort.

Adequate

D

condition of unstable flow; acceptable delays for short periods; an adequate level of comfort.

Inadequate

E

condition of unstable flow; unacceptable delays; an inadequate level of comfort.

Unacceptable

F

condition of cross flows; system breakdown and unacceptable delays; an unacceptable level of comfort.

Table 2.1 Level of Service Framework

The traffic demand at an airport is dynamic and is dependent upon schedule, flight sector, aircraft size, and local factors. This is why LoS plays a crucial role in determining the state of the terminal.

Table 2.2 IATA LOS Standards (ACRP-25, 2010)

2.3.1.2

HOWS DOES IT AFFECT?

The level of service of an airport is directly proportional to the comfort level provided to the passengers. The comfort level of the passengers depends on how stress-free they move around the airport and spend time and enjoy various commercial and non-commercial activities taking

14

place at the airports. LoS tells a lot about what kind of experience a passenger would have and how likely is the passenger to prefer the airport to use. The better the services the better the experience and the less likely are the passengers to spend their time at gate lounges, reducing the load factor of the waiting areas. This load factor can be reduced by 5-10% depending on the LoS.

2.3.2 2.3.2.1

DESIGN FACTORS ENGAGEMENT FACILITIES (non-revenue generating)

Over the world, designers have tried changing the concept of the airport from a transportation hub to a destination. Besides regular airport facilities, various stress-relieving areas have become a part of the designs. The airports are trying to generate spaces other than airport screening and security clearing to gain more and more attraction. Airports thus become more than a transportation hub.

For example, airports are coming up with garden spaces where the passengers can relieve themselves after the hassles and long check-in processes. Instead of spending their time in gate lounges, passengers would prefer spending their time in amongst nature. Mentioned below are some of the engagement activities offered at various airports throughout the world: •

PRAYER ROOMS: Prayer rooms are quite common at the airports. It gives a peaceful and quiet space for the passengers to relax and spend time in contemplation or prayer.

•

PET FACILITY: At LAX, trained therapy dogs (and their trusty handlers) stroll the departure levels of the airport to provide comfort to those waiting for flights — a sweet and sensible way to calm anxious travelers down. A similar facility is found across many airports to ease down passengers and make their day.

•

ART GALLERIES: Passengers traveling through Changi Airport can enjoy interactive installations and visual treats across its terminals. At Chhatrapati Shivaji, the passengers can enjoy and learn about many of the ancient wonders preserved within its walls. It’s a haven for India’s artistic history.

•

MARINE ECOLOGY: At Vancouver, two large tanks featuring eels, rockfish, anemones, jellyfish, and marine plants, gathered from Tofino and Howe Sound, are on display in the international terminal. The Jeddah airport now houses the world’s biggest airport aquarium with about 2,000 rare types of fish swimming around. It stands at 14 meters tall, with a diameter of 10 meters.

15

Figure 2.7 Water stream at Vancouver airport(L) (Wikimedia Commons, n.d.)

Figure 2.8 Aquarium at Jeddah airport(R) (World’s Largest Aquarium In Jeddah’s New Airport, 2020)

•

NATURE TRAIL: Singapore’s Changi Airport, has a variety of beautifully themed gardens sprinkled around the terminals. A rooftop Cactus Garden showcasing 100 species of cacti and succulents harkening from Africa and the Americas; the Sunflower Garden features over 500 cheery sunflowers guaranteed to brighten your day; and the Orchid Garden has a collection of the colorful blossoms on display, including their hybrid, the Dendrobium Changi Airport orchid (Chanel, 2018). It is accessible by both the passengers and the locals or the tourists. The new Daxing airport has gardens portraying traditional Chinese style.

Figure 2.9 Gardens at Changi Jewel (L) (Travel Weekly, 2018) Figure 2.10 Chinese Garden at New Beijing Daxing Airport (R) (Shui)

16

Figure 2.11 Ceiling installation at Atlanta Airport (Wolk, 2016)

These were just a few examples to name. Such activities tend to keep the passengers engaged and make them feel light and relaxed and keeps them away from the holdrooms.

2.3.2.2

ENGAGEMENT FACILITIES (revenue generating)

Certain airports develop the spaces in the sense that passenger flows are interrupted by periodic banks of shops, bars, cafes, flower stalls, and currency dealerships interrupting the passengers from spending time at the gate lounges. Every stage in the journey through the terminal is manipulated by commerce in one form or another. However, these facilities need the passenger to spend money upon to use it, there lies a factor of uncertainty if the passenger will engage him/herself in it. They try to give the passengers more and more incentives to go and check out their retail and activities. The major forethought behind it being generating non-aeronautical revenue. But boredom drives frustrated airline passengers into the shops and bars in proximity that predates upon their movements. Besides retailing, some airports are beginning to introduce various unusual facilities inside the airport terminals.

•

MUSEUMS: At Gatwick, an attraction known as Skyview provides a museum on the theme of flight. Chhatrapati Sivaji provides a museum that traces the evolution of modern society, showing how authentic social life had been replaced by its representation.

•

POOL FACILITIES: At Hamad international airport you get an indoor swimming pool and hydrotherapy tub. New Chitose Airport offers indoor and outdoor hot springs that define the onsen experience.

17

Figure 2.12 Water Spring at New Chitose Airport (L) (Noctive: Japan Nightlife Entertainment Media, n.d.)

Figure 2.13 Indoor Pool at Doha Airport (R) (MAILONLINE, 2019)

•

MOVIES: You can catch the hottest new flick in airport movie theatres in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, Singapore’s Changi Airport, South Korea’s Incheon Airport, Hong Kong International airport are a few of them to name.

•

SPORTING ACTIVITIES: At Hamad International airport you can also have some full gym time or can enjoy squash courts. Munich Airport is making waves with its 2,150ft indoor wave riding pool – which features the world’s largest stationary wave. And as unusual as it sounds, but Seoul- Incheon gets you an ice rink to cool off your mind.(Chanel, 2018).

Figure 2.14 Ice Rink at Incheon(L) (Airpaz Blog, 2019) Figure 2.15 Surfing at Munich Airport(R) (Hoeller, 2014)

With such activities around, passengers are less likely to spend their time near the gates been seated. The shift from retail to leisure is one of the defining elements of late-twentieth-century terminals. Some activities are seen pretty unusual for an Airport but they are a thing now and have got an overwhelming response from the users.

18

2.3.2.3

WALKING DISTANCE TO GATES

The load factor on the gate lounges is also subjected to the walking distance towards the gates.

As stated by John J. Fruin, “walking distances are a subjective human variable, with relatively long walking distances being accepted under some circumstances and rejected under others”.

Referring specifically to airport terminals, however, Fruin comments: There are indications that the tolerable limit of human walking distance is more situation-related than energy-related. The maximum curb-to-plane walking distances represent a normal five- to seven-minute walk for most persons, but the anxiety connected with meeting schedules, making the trip, and negotiating an unfamiliar building, tend to make these distances appear to be much longer. The tolerable walking distance for a given situation is related to such factors like the trip purpose of the individual, available time, and the walking environment, rather than energy consumption.

While walking through the wings towards the gates there seem to be very fewer activities for the passengers to defocus them from their walking so, they directly look forward to relaxing near their respective gates and spend most of their time before the departure there, rather than walking back and forth.

The type of terminal configuration being considered also has a direct bearing on the programmatic needs of the facility. Key programmatic differences between types of terminal configurations involve variances in the quantity of space required for circulation and concessions and variations in their distribution throughout the terminal facility design. In some airports, the engagement activities are concentrated on part of the terminal usually the central part and the gates are spread out in the wings. This causes an increase in walking distance from the engagement activities to the gates. Such type of planning is called centralized terminal planning. Such airports do not have any engagement activities nearer to the gates to be engaged in by the passengers. Hence, the passengers tend to spend their time being seated, increasing the load factor for holdrooms.

19

Figure 2.163 CSIA T2 Level 3 (departures)

•

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Terminal 2 (Mumbai, India)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport is an example of centralized terminal planning. The retail and engagement activities are concentrated in the center and the wings then spread out in different directions. The walking distances to the gates are shown in Figure 2.16 CSIA T2 Level 3 (departures)It can be seen in the layout that all the activities are concentrated in the center while wings do not engage in any other activity than waiting. And the walking distance from the center to the wings makes the passengers be waiting at the gate rather than engaging in other activities.

3

The base plan has been obtained from the official website of CSIA and has been modified for research purpose

20

Figure 2.17 Changi International Airport Layout (Changi Airport Group, n.d.)

•

Jewel at Singapore Changi International Airport

Jewel is considered to be an excellent example of an engagement activity at an airport to kill a passenger’s boredom. However, if we see the layout of the airport it seems quite unapproachable by the passengers due to its long walking distance. The layout of the Changi airport with walking distances is shown in Figure 2.17 Changi International Airport Layout It is positioned near Terminal 1 and is connected to other terminals via walk bridges. The walking time to reach Terminal 2 and 3 is approximately 10 minutes and is even farther more to reach the gates. So, a passenger waiting for boarding would not be able to access it. And is next to impossible for the passenger of Terminal 4 to access it.

21

Figure 2.184Location of gardens at Beijing Daxing Airport

•

Beijing Daxing Airport (China)

On, the contrary the new Beijing daxing Airport can be a good example. The Daxing airport traditional Chinese garden spaces, located in proximity to the gates as seen in Figure 2.18Location of gardens at Beijing Daxing Airportso the passengers could spend their time in the garden spaces without being worried about missing their flight. These gardens are located at the head of each of the five wings.

Decentralized airport terminals however may have few options open for their passengers to redeem their boredom in engaging in certain activities. Usually, the airports with winged piers have centralized terminal planning.5

4

The base plan has been obtained from the official website of (China Southern Airlines, n.d.) and has been modified for research purpose 5 Form based analysis has been done in Chapter 3

22

2.3.3

TYPE OF AIRCRAFT

The mix of aircraft expected to use an airport, specifically their physical size, geometry, and passenger capacity, can significantly affect terminal planning. Airports serving a large variety of aircraft types and sizes require more flexible and complex gate/concourse configurations than those serving predominantly one class of aircraft, which are more conducive to the provision of standardized areas and facilities at and adjacent to aircraft gate positions.

Terminals at airports serving widebody aircraft require the ability to accommodate the large passenger surges, which normally occur when these aircraft load and unload. Similarly, airports with a significant amount of commuter or small regional aircraft, require careful consideration.

Many commercial service airports serve a variety of non-scheduled operations such as charter flights, group tour flights, and air-taxi operations. At some airports, a relatively high volume of airline charter or other non-scheduled operations may warrant consideration of separate, modest terminal facilities (ACRP-25, 2010).

Having the ability to “swing” the use of aircraft gates between international arrivals and domestic departures/arrivals provides additional flexibility and higher utilization of the gate resource. This flexibility requires a separate sterile corridor to each gate with doorways that prevent the mixing of international arrivals with domestic passenger flows(Nuefville & Odoni, 2002).

The table below lists the variations in seating capacities of a few airplanes:

AIRPLANE

CAPACITY

Boeing 717

134

Boeing 737

85-215

Boeing 777

301-368

Airbus a320

140-180

Airbusa330

250-440

Airbusa380

853

Table 2.3 Airplane seating capacity

23

2.3.4

LOCATION OF THE AIRPORT

The location airport decides what kind of passengers it would cater too and that affects the design of the terminal to a greater extent. There are various types of passengers such as business or leisure, originating, or transit (ACRP-25, 2010). The typology of the passengers depends upon whether the airport is located in a metropolitan city or a travel destination or a smaller developing city. It also acts as a deciding factor upon how much time the passenger spends at that particular airport. For example, a person traveling for business will not tend to arrive at the airport way too early to spend his/her time inside the airport. A business person will prefer to spend as little time as possible and will not spend much time in the seating areas and if they do so it will preferably be in the airline or airport lounge services. Thus, for cities of economic importance, the load factor on holdrooms tend to be lesser.

The type of retail and other engagement facilities also is dependent on where the airport is located and what type of destination it is. For instance, big international hubs tend to have more retail. While on the other hand, the load factor of the holdrooms increases substantially due to the lesser amount of retails or other activities. In countries such as France and Japan, and often in the developing world, the airport terminal is seen as part of the national infrastructure – like roads and hospitals – rather than merely as a means of making money (Ashford, 2019). Here commercial exploitation of the traveler, who may be isolated in the airport for long periods, is less obvious. In place of burger bars and amusement arcades, one finds spacious, well-planted lounges and wide, uncluttered corridors. Hence, there seems to be little commercial manipulation that could keep the passengers engaged.

Likewise, the forms of traffic have seasonal patterns different from other categories of traffic.

Vacation travel may be concentrated in a few months, for instance. It becomes difficult to estimate the overall space required for facilities in passenger buildings. And the need to recognize the distinct local patterns for the traffic becomes crucial.

The design of the holdroom and the load factor is subjected to the above factors and differ from airport to airport. Also, these factors are relative and indefinite which increases the uncertainty enhancing the need for flexibility rather than having a set of defined parameters for a fixed time frame.

24

2.4

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.4.1

BOOKS AND PAPERS

The technical and design and knowledge about the construction of airports are well illustrated in a bunch of books. All the authors have tried to compress the eternity of airport design be it; runways or hangers or signage or material into their books, however in that effort to they made it difficult for the readers to take up a single topic to detail and focus upon. It often becomes difficult if you want to focus and understand in detail any single aspect of design or an airport.

However, many authors in their conference papers have tried to addresses various aspects of singularity, which would be quite helpful.

•

ACRP Report 25

(ACRP: Airport Cooperative Research Program) The book explains in detail the process of terminal planning and planning considerations. It talks about sustainability and facilities for passengers covering every aspect. It has a detailed analysis and surveys fora better understanding of the design process.

•

A look into the future of airports

This paper provides a summary overview of the current issues that have been identified by the aviation community in the areas of airport planning, design, and construction; the key issues that make it difficult to predict future market forces that radically change the growth of the aviation industry. This paper did not attempt to provide answers or solutions but instead identified a full range of topics that need to be thoughtfully addressed by the airport and aviation community.

•

Active Waiting: Potentials of waiting areas at airports

This paper observes and analyzes the relation between spatial elements and the behavior of passengers at a waiting area within an airport terminal, through the lens of the active waiting concept. According to them, the experience of waiting can be achieved through three stages of habitation, which is lingering, tarrying, and the state of dwelling. The expected result from this study is to discover the potentials of the waiting area at an airport.

2.4.2

RESEARCHERS TAKE ON FLEXIBILITY

The concept of flexibility was studied by few authors (ACRP-25, 2010; Butters, 2010; Chambers, 2007; de Neufville, 2008; de Neufville & Belin, 2002; de Neufville & Odoni, 2003; Edwards, 2005; Gil & Tether, 2011; Kwakkel et al., 2010) in various fields of airport planning

25

and design. de Neufville and Belin (2002) studied shared-use facilities to achieve flexibility in airport operations; de Neufville and Odoni (2003) studied uncertainty; de Neufville (2008) also researched on flexibility in low-cost airports; Edwards (2005) discussed shearing layers of change in terminal design, and Chambers (2007) studied how to tackle uncertainty in airport design. Sarah Shuchi (2015) studied in detail the flexibility approach in the departure area and developed a detailed method for automatic plan generation.

•

de Neufville and his co-authors (2008)

Richard de Neufville is probably the most diversified author of airport flexibility since he has several publications with different proposes. de Neufville and his co-authors identified several issues related to flexibility. Choosing an appropriate terminal configuration should be given initial priority to handle various types of passenger need, where “hybrid‟ design is highly encouraged (de Neufville, 1995). According to de Neufville and Odoni (2003), the primary flexibility in terminal buildings can be achieved by choosing an appropriate configuration that helps to expand and contract according to the activities performed.

•

Brian Edwards (2000)

Brian Edwards in his book The Modern Airport Terminal discussed the importance of flexibility in airport design. According to his point of view, the need for flexibility in airport design is the result of complex interactions between airline companies, aircraft design, and airport authorities. Airport terminals are functionally turbulent spaces; different parts of an airport change at different rates. Recognizing the separate layers, as proposed by Edwards, helps in understanding the process. Each layer is on a distinct timescale so concurrent changes in each layer tend to disrupt the whole. Recognizing separate layers and allowing some disconnection between them is necessary to allow the terminal building to renew itself.

Figure 2.19 Airport terminal layers as proposed by Edwards

26

•

Butters (2010)

Butters investigated flexibility in airport design and proposed that to adapt to the changing environment at airports, four key stages of development or refurbishment should be embedded: master planning, building design, space planning, and component design. The importance of buffer spaces was also identified; appropriate incorporation of such spaces in layout and space planning for future expansion keeps possibilities for converting spaces from non-operational functions to operational. Converting adjacent spaces from non-operational space to operational is another strategy to add flexibility in space planning.

•

Gil and Tether (2011)

The key contribution of their study was a theoretical understanding of the conditions under which risk management and design flexibility may complement each other to manage the pressure between efficiency and effectiveness in large projects. The balance between flexibility and risk management helps to reconcile efficiency and effectiveness.

•

Liliana Magalhães and Rosário Macário (2012)

They suggested that “multiairports” should also consider flexibility levels along with the four key stages defined by Butters. The framework also considers exogenous variables, such as demand, technology, regulation, and financing.

•

Sarah Shuchi (2015)

She proposed a design framework to develop flexible layouts of departure areas in an international airport. She developed a flexible design framework for airport terminals based on several hypotheses extracted from the literature. She generated an algorithm demonstrating the applicability of the proposed design concept by obtaining spatial layout for preliminary design based on passenger activity. She also set a framework for design parameters.

•

Catarina Além (2015)

She has studied the various levels of flexibility and flexibility options available. She has studied the advantages and disadvantages of the same and carried out an analysis of various flexible airports. And has shown a comparative analysis of the same.

27

Table 2.4 Evaluation of the flexibility options (Alem, 2015)

2.5

FLEXIBILITY: AN OPTION OR A NECESSITY?

Through the literature review, it was possible to notice that two exogenous variables are crucial for airport flexibility: demand and investment. It is demand fluctuations and investment constraints that motivate flexibility in the first place. It is possible to say that flexibility exists to provide the airport with the ability to face demand changes without jeopardizing investment(Magalhães, Reis, & Macário, 2012). Certainly, other exogenous variables influence flexibility, or instance regulation aspects and technology advances.

A typical holdroom has linearly arranged seats with a monotonous environment making the passengers feel more anxious and uncomfortable before boarding their flight. Be it an elderly or a kid the seating arrangement is the same for every user. Since the beginning, the design of the holdrooms has not evolved much. On the contrary, holdrooms are supposed to be a place where the passengers can relax after the tiresome journey through the airport processes.

With the new developments in airports and evolving preferences of passengers, operators of the executive lounges have brought lounges in the reach of economy class passengers who can use these services for a nominal fee. Through this, they have tried to reach out to more people.

Hence, unlike earlier, they are now open to everyday leisure travelers who can enjoy the benefits of an airport lounge experience. This step made more people eligible for access turning

28

these once-calm spaces into spaces that are just as crowded as the terminal and do not maintain its luxury standards. There are now kids running all over the place making noise, people hauling over buffet and drinks and the entire of the entire place is lost. This step sure does reduce the load on the holdrooms but it compromises the decorum of the executive lounges.

With continuous advancements, new types, sizes, and patterns of aircraft are being introduced more frequently. It is the terminal that has to adapt and accommodate it. New, larger aircraft impose changes on the capacity of departure lounges demanding more service and space requirements.

The growth of the city the airport is located in is directly proportional to the traffic it calls at its airport. With the city developing it calls for the expansion of the terminals and the need for upgradation. To a certain extent, flexibility can be an effective option, but then after expansion becomes a necessity.

This kind of uncertain decision and changes result in fluctuating demand of the spaces, in some cases, there would be access to leftover spaces while in some there would be insufficient spaces.

Thus, it becomes important to adapt to these changes in the long run or short run.

3

SIGNIFICANCE OF FORM

Designers and planners have been trying on achieving architectural marvels in the field of airport design. In doing so they have to make sure that passenger comfort is not compromised.

The two types of passengers: business travelers and leisure travelers and significant variations in the characteristics and ratio of these two passenger types can influence terminal space requirements and staffing.

This section describes the basic configuration of airport passenger buildings concerning the passenger movement and how it affects the holdroom designs. The subsequent section analyzes the performance of the waiting areas as per the building configuration and the characteristic of the passenger.

29

3.1

CENTRALIZED TERMINAL BUILDINGS

The underlying premise of a centralized terminal is that all passengers and baggage at the airport process through a single central facility. A finger pier (wings of the airport) is a relative extension to a central passenger facility. This design places aircraft gates on both sides of the building extending away from the central core. It concentrates all the major engagement activities in the center which results in keeping the passengers away from their gates for a longer time.

Figure 3.1 Passenger Movement in the centralized terminal building

In a centralized terminal building, the boarding gates are spread out in wings and are usually away from the line of sight of the passengers. It also creates congestion in the central area, which is both good and bad. It is good because traffic is heavy enough to support restaurants, shops, and other passenger conveniences. At gate-arrival terminals, where this density does not exist, passengers can hardly get anything to eat, for operators cannot afford to maintain the equipment and staff required to provide food service for the few persons who pass by a few gates. Forcing them to spend their majority time before boarding in the central area. Hence, concentrating all the passengers in the central zone a couple of hours before their boarding.

At large airports-all, passengers must go through a congested central place and must travel a considerable distance for their aircraft. Although this distance may be covered on foot or via some form of APM’s (automatic passenger mover)like moving sidewalk or sky-bus etc. It proves to be inconvenient, especially to commuters and others who may be in a great hurry.

30

The passengers then tend to start their journey towards the gates almost ½ hour prior to their boarding times, splitting themselves into their respective gate wings. This creates a sudden influx of passengers in the waiting areas. And once near their gates, the passengers tend to not move far off spaces or leave their gates out of their sight.

However, every different passenger would react differently to this configuration. Leisure travelers are more likely to arrive well in advance of flight departure time, have time to explore and use a wider range of terminal facilities. A traveling family is more likely to spend their time in the central zone engaging themselves whereas a person desiring to work will prefer to have a take-away or would like to have it delivered to his/her place near to the gate and work efficiently without any disturbance or worrying about missing the flight. In the case of elderly people, they would be more comfortable to be waiting peacefully near the gates and have their services delivered to them in hand on their seats rather than moving around adjusting in different places. In case of the gates being far off from the central zone, the passengers are likely to get worried and move to their gates earlier. This makes it essential to critically design the waiting area. Every member would have different expectations to be satisfied. The waiting area might require diversity to adjust and keep up with these expectations of the flyers.

Figure 3.2 Passenger density 2-3 hours before departure below shows the concentration of the passengers’ hours before their departure times.

Figure 3.2 Passenger density 2-3 hours before departure

31

Figure 3.3 Passenger density ½ - 1 hour before departure below shows that the concentration of the passengers’ ½ to 1 hour before their departure times is nearer to their gates.

Figure 3.3 Passenger density ½ - 1 hour before departure

Also, the geographical location of the airport would decide what kind of flyers it will cater toa business hub or a tourist attraction or a commercial center or whatnot.

3.1.1 3.1.1.1

FORM BASED CASE STUDIES CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT T2

•

Location: Mumbai

•

Architects: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill Architects

•

Project Completion: 2014

The iconic Terminal 2 of CSIA is India’s first and most advanced vertical passenger terminal that integrates world-class design, architecture, infrastructure, and operational efficiency, with a rich infusion of Indian heritage and cultural character. The terminal combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof, optimizing terminal operations and reducing passenger walking distances. Inspired by the form of traditional Indian pavilions, the new fourstory terminal stacks a grand “headhouse,” or central processing podium, on top of highly

32

adaptable and modular concourses below. Rather than compartmentalizing terminal functions, all concourses radiate outwards from a central processing core and are therefore easily reconfigured to “swing” between serving domestic flights or international flights. (ArchDaily, 2014).

Figure 3.4 CSIA T2 (ArchDaily, 2014) Figure 3.5 CSIA T2 Aerial view

This terminal comes under centralized planning it has all the retail activities concentrated at the center while the gates span into the four wings of the terminal (as shown in section 2.3.2.3).

The plan in

Figure 3.6 Waiting Area Layout shows one of the wings of

the terminal. It has no major engagement facility nearby, hence the influx of the passengers is likely to be only ½ -1 hour before the boarding time. It just has waiting benches till the end of the wing.

However, the waiting areas have warm and cozy interiors which can help calm the traveler’s anxiety. It also has a bit of variation in types of seating. The prevalence of local art and culture, coupled with the use of warm colors and elegant accents helps in elevating the ambiance. It has advanced lighting solutions with a cool lighting concept and scene-setting. The airport has tried to get around space constraints by the dual use of waiting areas for domestic flights, which take place mostly during the day, and international operations, which are mostly late at night.

33

Figure 3.66 Waiting Area Layout

Figure 3.7Holdroom (CSIA T2) (Flicker, n.d.)

6

The base plan has been obtained from the official website of CSIA and then modified for research purpose

34

3.1.1.2

DAXING AIRPORT

•

Location: Beijing

•

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects

•

Project Completion: 2019

Daxing Airport is now the world’s largest airport terminal, spanning 7.5 million square feet.

Five aircraft piers radiate directly from the terminal’s main central court where all passenger services and amenities are located, enabling passengers to walk the comparatively short distances through the airport without the need for automated shuttle trains. As a result, the terminal’s compact design minimizes distances between check-in and gate, as well as connections between gates for transferring passengers. This radial configuration ensures that the farthest boarding gate can be accessed in a walking time of fewer than 8 minutes.

(ArchDaily, 2019)

Figure 3.8 Beijing Daxing Airport (ArchDaily, 2019)

Similar to the CSIA, Daxing airport has all the major activities centralized and the passengers then radiate to their respective wings. However, it has provided the traditional Chinese garden at the end of each pier.

With no acoustic barrier or any partitions or any variations in arrangement or sitting. It can be seen from Figure 3.9 Waiting Area (DAX)that is space is not likely to give a lively experience to travelers. It is no newer than that of the waiting areas of the dated airports. It gives no sense of interaction or liveliness to keep up with the excitement of the flyers or keep the children engaged without disturbing fellow travelers.

35

Figure 3.9 Waiting Area (DAX)(Kusch+Co GmbH & Co. KG, 2019)

The waiting areas (towards the end of the wings) are divided vertically to divide the passenger movement and avoid crowding. The mezzanine floor waiting area is also directly connected to the boarding bridges. Hence, avoiding queuing time while boarding.

Figure 3.10 Waiting area at Beijing Daxing Airport

36

3.2

LINEARLY CONFIGURED TERMINAL BUILDINGS

Linear buildings are long structures with one side devoted to aircraft and the other faced by roads and parking lots. Designers originally called it the "gate arrival" concept. The idea was that people could arrive at the airport right at their departure gate and walk to their flight through a thin building. (Nuefville & Odoni, 2002)

Figure 3.11 Passenger Movement in the linear terminal building

In a linear arrangement of the building all the airport processes are linearly arranged and are uniformly distributed across the terminal. Upon entry, the passenger can straight up go through all the processes towards their gates. Hence after completing their departure processes the passengers straight away head to their respective gates and hover around in that area to access nearby concessions. So, throughout the time the waiting areas keep occupied and unlike the centralized building, they have constant influx and outflux of passengers. In this case, the passengers are not likely to be constantly seated and preferably would keep themselves occupied here and there from time to time.

37

Figure 3.12 Passenger density 2-3 hours before departure

Figure 3.13 Passenger density ½ -1 hour before departure

It can be seen from Figure 3.12 Passenger density 2-3 hours before departure and Figure 3.13 Passenger density ½ -1 hour before departure that there is not much difference in the concentration of the passengers in the linear building design.

As the gates and the engagement activities are in proximity the passengers do not have to choose whether to spend their time nearer to the concessions or nearer to the gates. Here, they can easily access both the spaces; enjoy the concessions whilst watching out for their flights. Hence, the occupancy of the waiting area would be throughout time.

38

3.2.1 3.2.1.1

FORM BASED CASE STUDIES SIR SEEWOOSAGUR RAMGOOLAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

•

Location: Mauritius

•

Architect: ADPI Designers & Planners

•

Project completion: 2013

The structure of the New Airport Terminal is designed after the "Traveller's palm", a tropical plant that grows on Mauritius. The new terminal, which costs US$306 million, is in line with the "Maurice Ile Durable" concept. The terminal covers an area of 57,000 square meters. 4.5 million passengers a year. (WIKIPEDIA, n.d.)

Figure 3.14 SSRIA (CYND, n.d.)

This is an example of the liner type airport terminal. Shaped in form of an arc it has uniformly distributed retail and concession spaces in line of vision from the boarding gates making it easy for the passengers to access the places.

39

Figure 3.157 Distribution of concessions

Figure 3.16 Waiting Area (SSRIA) (Airport Terminal Operations Limited, n.d.)

3.2.1.2

DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

•

Location: Texas

•

Architect: HOK

•

Project completion: 1974

The airport – which sees more than 69 million passengers every year – is one of the most frequently visited superhub airports in the world. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has

7The

base plan has been obtained from (MAURITIUS AIRPORT TAX REFUND PROCEDURE, 2019) and has been modified for research purpose

40

five terminals and 182 gates. The terminals at DFW are semi-circular and built around the airport's central north-south arterial road.

Figure 3.17 Layout of DFW

DFW is a series of terminals in a similar semi-circular form which makes it easy for distribution of the passengers and spaces within. The distribution of the spaces makes the journey through the terminal more convenient and less stressful as they can see what’s next in the process and are nearer to their respective gates.

41

4

SURVEY ANALYSIS

A survey of about 100 people was carried out8. The respondents were asked to share their waiting area experience and describe how they would like the waiting area to be and stuff they would like to do while waiting.

The majority of the respondents ended up answering that they found themselves being bored, desperately finding ways to kill their time. The chart shown in Figure 4.1 Chart representing the waiting area experience of the respondents below summarizes the feelings of the respondents about the waiting area space.

Figure 4.1 Chart representing the waiting area experience of the respondents

About 98% of people also suggested upgrading the waiting area spaces. The chart in Figure 4.2 Chart representing respondents views on upgrading the waiting area below sums up the respondent's views on whether or not the waiting area spaces should be more interactive and have the need to change.

8The

questionnaire to the survey has been attached at the end of the research in APPENDIX A

42

Figure 4.2 Chart representing respondents views on upgrading the waiting area

The respondents expressed their views about the activities they would like to be doing and would be glad to accept. While a majority of the respondents wished for a peaceful place where they can pursue their reading or working, many wished to relax on recliner chairs and even take a nap in case of long overlays and flight delays. Very few airports offer this kind of facility for relaxing or napping accessible for normal economic class ticket holders.

People wanted to have a more interactive and lively space. Space where they can engage themselves: from kids to youngsters to elderly people. Different people have different ideas about engaging themselves. Some would enjoy talking to fellow passengers and a good sitting arrangement can be helpful for them. Space shall be designed in a way that encourages interaction and provides a good atmosphere for the same. Some would like to explore the artwork installations, educate themselves with the latest information about their destination.

Some wanted to engage themselves in gaming- playing with fellow passengers, and one or two activities for children.

43

Figure 4.3 Chart representing respondents interest in activities 9

The chart in Figure 4.3 Chart representing respondents interest in activities is the resultant of the responses acquired from the survey. It shows the activities that the respondents solicited and expected themselves to be doing while in the waiting room.

The survey helped in understanding people's opinions about the waiting areas. Understanding people's opinions help in designing a space that the users can enjoy practically rather than just in theory. All the users mostly showed similar opinions about space. With architecture and technology developing continuously, the design should also develop at a similar rate. People still feel uncomfortable and uneasy while using the space rather than relaxing after all the chaos of the airport processes. People refrain from accepting the parallelly arranged uncomfortable seats. Certain airports have developed well but there are still more than 90% of airports that use this typical design of the waiting area. Architecture seems to fails to cater to the demands of the users. Instead of being excited about their journey, the design makes them sick and displeasing.

The majority of the respondents had an unsatisfying experience.

Customers, and their needs, have evolved. Adapting to these changes as we develop infrastructure solutions can result in a more efficient and comfortable boarding process. It’s not just a matter of adding more seats in the gate areas. We must consider what type of seats, how many, and do they provide the right solution? Understanding how people arrive at the front

9

This chart is based on the theoretical response of the respondetns and not on pre given options.

44

door of an airport and how they ideally maneuver through the terminals will influence how we design gate/hold rooms.

5

DESIGN SUGGESTIONS

5.1

DESIGN FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility as a concept can be defined in two ways: •

Flexibility in terms of experience

•

Flexibility in terms of functionality

5.1.1

FLEXIBILITY IN EXPERIENCE

Offering a different experience to a particular space every time a user visits it can be intriguing.

Every time a person visits the same place he leaves with an altogether new experience and making him more interested in the process of visiting.

Say, why do public spaces and retail and commercial spaces come with decorating and engaging activities during the time of festivities?

The simple answer is, to generate an experience that is new and different from its surroundings.

Decorating the spaces during the time of festivities with appropriate cultural context is something which has proved its significance to incline traveler/tourist attention and help uplift the psychology of the users. They help in bringing back life to space. These spaces can be termed multipurpose as they can bend and blend as per the required user experience. A soothing waiting experience could make the passengers flexible about any constraints they might have experienced within the terminal. Experience is influenced by interactions with external factors such as products, people, and the context that the interaction takes place.

45

Figure 5.1 Munich Airport during Christmas (Noel, 2017)

Designers cannot overlook the human aspect of aviation architecture as the future unfolds. Our end users are not just the Passenger Name Reference on their boarding pass; they are young adults going off to college, grandparents flying in for an annual visit, friends on a thrilling adventure, businesspeople pursuing opportunities, and much more. It is a wonderful responsibility to create a human stage in these cities within cities where people act out so many scenes of their lives.

The focus on the interior elements emphasizes the universality, time passage, variation, adynamic waiting experience, and a comfortable place to stay and to access the space, with both connected to the important spots as well as getting some privacy (Pasaribu, Arvanda, & Kusuma, 2018). Interior elements are objects in the waiting area that act as the medium between the spaces and the human body (Pasaribu, Arvanda, & Kusuma, 2018).

The interior element, in the waiting area, holds importance in provoking the potentials of a dynamic waiting experience. It helps trigger a continuous cycle between the body movement of passengers, their expectations, time, and provoke the experience of waiting. The adjustable or slight variation of interior elements is a step-in generating inhabitation as an attempt to accommodate a comfortable waiting experience for the body and the state of mind of passengers. The subjective interpretation of time influences the perception of the event itself: time appears to “fly” when one is having a good time, and conversely “crawl” when one is not.

(Harrison, 2015) Rearranging the furnishings, adding different elements on a particularly timely basis can help add a factor of awe to the otherwise dreary space. For example, the gates or the wings of the terminal which are designed to be alike each other can be differentiated from one another in

46

terms of their interior elements or furnishing layouts or color schemes, etc. The traveler hence can easily differentiate on the basis of employed color scheme and it can offer him a different experience altogether. Human experience can be catered to, even by making a minute amount of difference, and does not necessarily require a substantial amount of alteration to change his temper. Leaving space for opportunities while designing is an important part of the design process. The free and open holdrooms are an opportunity to provide each departing flight with its own collective experience, as well as customizing offerings to individual passengers (Corgan, 2020). The value of experiences lasts past the point of delivery of the experience itself.

5.1.2

FLEXIBILITY IN FUNCTIONALITY

Flexibility in terms of functionality is more like adaptability. Adaptable buildings are designed to adjust to the different functions, defined by various activities. Adaptable architecture also makes room for all the technological innovations that can improve the previous installations of the building. Such as flexible updating in communication, security, other service systems, and allowing changing layouts and functional specifications of the building. An adaptable building can adopt new functions, and accelerate to adjust to fast development, and thus be revitalized in uses and functions. The factors for the same have already been mentioned in chapter 2.3.

With creative planning, a facility doesn’t have to always be what it once was. Functionally flexibility has to do more with management and the designers than it has to do with the user or a traveler. The traveler might not usually feel any significant change as the change in space because to change is due to the change in needs and the case of terminal buildings, it is usually the influx rate of passengers. But space constraints also directly affect the temper of the traveler’s in many ways. Space been too jam-packed or been too empty affects differently on the traveler. Flexibility in functionality means approaches for expansion or contraction of a space or defining a space as a multifunctional space, designing shared use spaces, including buffer spaces, etc. Shared use and multifunctional facilities help in proper planning and effective use of space. These are some general approaches for a flexible design that have been used by the architecture fraternity and might work in this case as well.

5.2

PREVIOUSLY PROPOSEDGENERAL DESIGN STRATEGIES

Until now what researchers have proposed about flexibility has to do with the overall airport layout and planning. Thus, they have proposed design solutions that will help engage flexibility

47

from the point of view of the entire airport but might not work when broken down into individual parts like as Aristotle said“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.This means all the proposed approaches that might work on a larger level may or may not work on a smaller level.

Given below are the solutions proposed by different researchers. The author has tried to establish a relationship of current researches concerned study with the proposed solutions.

5.2.1

SHARED USE FACILITIES

In general, if two or more clients share a space that helps reducing design load is called a shareduse space. Shared use facilities significantly increase the flexibility of a terminal building. de Neufville and Belin proposed a comprehensive guide to design shared and multifunctional facilities.

They discussed specific types of shared-use facilities: holdroom in front of aircraft gates; swing gates between international and domestic operations; and gates at the airport. For example, when peak international and domestic traffic do not coincide, the same boarding and waiting areas can serve both international passengers and domestic passengers at different periods in a day.

As the need for different functions typically peaks at different times, shared and multi-function spaces have the potential to reduce the total space required. For example, a holding room shared by multiple gates typically requires less space than the same number of individual gate hold rooms. An example of which is already being talked about in section 3.1.1.1. Economic efficiency is also a prime motivator for the use of shared-use/ multifunctional facilities in airport terminals.

5.2.2

MOVEABLE/FOLDING PARTITIONS

It is of the most common features of a flexible structure suggested by most of the researchers (Shuchi, 2015) (ACRP-25, 2010). It opens the opportunity of creating spaces to meet the needs of changing passenger volume. This system has already proven its effectiveness in providing flexibility according to functional requirements and hence the importance of this parameter is already established in the world of flexibility. Providing partitions between the seats or segregating/uniting the waiting areas as per the passenger capacity of aircraft and peak hour can be proved very helpful.

48

Partition walls are a simple, easy, and economical solution for the indulgence of flexibility and proper coherence with the type of building structure as well as the design of space. It can create a great aesthetic impact and add value to space. They can add life to the otherwise open elongated waiting areas. They can be either green walls, timber walls, screen walls, graphic walls, etc according to what suits the design. They can also be designed to be interactive to engage children as well as other passengers. They can help in breaking the line of vision of an endless arrangement of waiting benches. Automatic moveable partitions are also now available which reduces efforts to move the partition manually.

The partitions can also be added for creating an acoustic barrier. The open plans of the airport have very low acoustics control. Partitions thus can also help provide great sound insulations, reducing the noise level efficiently.

5.2.3

LEVEL CHANGES

The volume of passengers to be catered to dictates the necessity of level change; available forecasting models are used to predict growth in passenger volumes and the decision on level change is made at the preliminary design level.

Certain airports have holdrooms extended by creating mezzanine levels to increase the seating capacity. With the help of multi-level boarding bridges, passenger flow can be distributed vertically. One such level change approach can be seen in the Beijing Daxing Airport as talked about in section 3.1.1.2. It aids in cutting down the commotion and can ease in providing variation in seating or zoning for passengers. For example, in the case of Beijing Daxing Airport, the mezzanine floor sitting could be dedicated to the working passengers with appropriate seating and arrangement and the ground seating could be arranged for family travelers in a similar fashion.

5.2.4

MODULARITY

Modular design is characterized by properties such as upgradability, serviceability, flexibility, and so on. It is identified as a key element of a flexible design concept as it creates a building that allows for an incremental expansion process. The modular design combines the advantages of standardization with those of customization. Modularity is especially advantageous when the scale and scope of the project are relatively large.

Queen Alia airport an example of a modular and flexible concept of the terminal that allows for future expansion, ensuring annual growth of 6 percent and increasing capacity from 3 million

49

to 12.8 million passengers per year by 2030 – the Airport is predestined to be the most important hub for Levant region. To enable seamless expansion over time, each dome of the tessellated roof canopy is a modular, semi-autonomous unit. They branch out from supporting columns like leaves of a desert palm with the geometric pattern applied to each, representing the veins of a leaf.(Bojovic, 2013)

Figure 5.2 Queen Alia Airport (L) (Bojovic, 2013) Figure 5.3 Modular Domes at Queen Alia Airport(R) (Bojovic, 2013)

Passenger volume certainly affects the size of a terminal, and so built-in ease of expansion is heavily dependent on passenger volumes. As modules are relatively easy to substitute, remove, or add, they represent options that are built into the design of a new product or system. This concept can be helpful in small as well as a larger fragment of design. Airport owners, planners, and managers, however, are uniquely positioned to apply flexible planning methods to specific engineering decisions by employing modularity and multi-functionality.

In the concept of modularity, the one with furniture modularity can be of great use in the case of waiting areas. With the help of modular furniture, it is easy to add or remove seats as per demand. They are flexible enough to arrange according to the choice.

50

Figure 5.4 New Beam seat by UFL (UFL, 2014)

The arrangement in Figure 5.4 New Beam seat by UFL the connectivity of allowing for a twoway or three-way connection with power and data as standard.

Figure 5.5 (LEY FORM , n.d.)

5.2.5

FUNCTIONALLY NEUTRAL SPACE

In most airports, designers keep some functionally neutral spaces(buffer space) for future alterations. In terms of design, this approach means that space is redeployed and can be used

51

later on for other requirements. Functionally neutral spaces serve as great flexible elements in operational, tactical, and strategic stages (Shuchi, 2015).

These spaces could be used to accommodate sudden increases in passenger volume due to some unforeseen events or during some emergency. If the future planning of an airport terminal has the provision of functionally neutral areas that can accommodate sudden changes in volumes of passengers, the design of that particular airport can be considered flexible. However, these neutral spaces also have to be planned carefully so that they can be helpful when needed to be put in action. The provision of buffer spaces vaguely can lead to a bad design if they cannot serve their purpose when needed.

5.3

5.3.1

NEW DESIGN STRATEGIES

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS

Technology across the aviation industry is rapidly evolving and changing the way airports and airlines operate. Technology has given us the potential to make the staid holdrooms that were just to sit and sip a drink before a trip into a resurgence as a destination in itself. The emergence of the Big Data powered by algorithmic and automation may put the promise of architectural flexibility within our reach. Technologies hold the potential of turning the entire passenger experience upsidedown. Designers consider how best to incorporate rapidly advancing technology, such as AI and virtual reality to provide individualized information to passengers on their journey from curbside to gate, and back.

Augmented and virtual reality are becoming mainstream, while machine learning and AI are managing hugely complex sets of data and transforming the potential for people’s living and enhancing their reality. Kay Shorin from Luxury Daily says: “While technological breakthroughs in the last 10 years have had a significant impact on the world of interior design, future innovations are poised to permanently change the relationship between consumers and designers.”XR(Extended Reality) technologies like AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality) and now developing MR(MixedReality) can give passengers the potential to experience destinations before they even get on the plane.

These technologies however enhance a space and its experience. It does not need any design accompaniment to the reality of space. Conversely, certain technologies help create spaces that cater to physical and social well-being through programming, amenities, and zoning.

Technology has the power to convert a space into a more interactive and lively. It can easily

52

bring life to a dull space. Developing technologies contribute to the possibility of new and better constructional and operational strategies. The holdroom can become an experience that breaks down the rigidity of travel, communicating the exhilaration of flight and the adventure of discovering new places.

5.3.2

INTERACTIVE DISPLAY SYSTEM

Certain airports and stores have created their apps for the ease of their passengers. Passengers can order or shop online and get goods and services delivered to them at their gates as they get comfortable. A more advanced way for the same can be achieved by installing touch screen panels.

The touch screen panel could provide the passenger with a variety of food and shopping facility.

It becomes easy to update as and when the concessions change if they run out of service or can change per the seasons and festivities. The passenger does not need to install an app every time they visit the airport or wish to travel. The panels can also be used for multiple purposes like exhibiting flight information and updating with destination information and the weather. It can respond to users' requirements intuitively and people can become participants rather than users.

An added advantage of this is that it diminishes the need for concessions to be in proximity to the gates. This can give more space near the gates for a better arrangement of seats or escalating the capacity of the holdroom.

Similar to the screen for the concessions, there can be a screen for interactive amenities or games for children to engross in. Delivering play areas can take up a lot of space in the holdroom hence cutting down its capacity. Along with the children, it also keeps the tech-savvy passengers magnetized to it.

Figure 5.6 Interactive Display Panel (Glass Tek, n.d.)

Figure 5.7 Interactive Display Panel (Design Buzz, n.d.)

53

5.3.3

BIOMETRIC SCANNER SYSTEM

Biometrics provides a more secure and convenient way for identity authentication. This process will ideally replace the manual checking of passports nationwide. Face recognition technology replaces the traditional boarding method of showing your passport and ticket. Biometric facial scanning takes the passenger processing from lengthy slow queues to a freeing walk-through experience. Strategically placed cameras will scan passenger's faces, collecting data, and allowing them to enter the boarding bridge without stopping. It makes moving through more affluent and cuts down your time. The incentive of this includes reduced staffing and shorter boarding times — which, of course, is a boon not just for airlines but also for travelers who like the idea of checking in and boarding flights without having to show a boarding pass or ID. It makes the process of boarding faster reducing the queue and clearing the holdrooms faster. It reduces the need to provide additional space for queuing passengers as boarding becomes a seamless experience.

5.3.4

DYNAMIC FAÇADE DISPLAY

Glazing viewing the airfield can transform into curtain wall displays that could highlight the streets, attractions, digital landscapes, the latest news, weather, and sports tailored to the intended flight destination. With every changing destination, it can display relative information.

Instead of browsing on their devices, this would create a whole new experience and excitement for the passengers for their travel. Thus, every time a passenger visits an airport it can generate a different experience for them depending upon their destination. It forever constant looking infinite linear seats would get a boost and interest more passengers towards it.

Curtain wall displays use transparent OLED screens. This technology has not yet seen a large spectrum of business spheres. But it is considered a good alternative to create a highlight on the glass architecture without detracting from the overall design. It adds style without blocking out light or the view on both sides.

These screens in applications offer the best of both a display screen and a transparent fascia, meaning customers can see through the screen into the airfield, as well as chosen content that is displayed over the top of it. It offers a refreshing and ideal solution for hi-tech environments, dazzling audiences, and spectators with the creative use of such technology. This technology is pretty simple and does not even take much of the space in technical rooms. It is easy to install and operate as well. The capabilities of this technology are endless, offering a real and effective solution to self-lighting display needs. The visual effect it produces lends itself well to a range of premium or luxury environments the designer desires to deliver.

54

Figure 5.8 OLED Transparent Screens

5.3.5

FLEXIBLE SEATING ARRANGEMENT

A typical waiting room is stacked by rows of similar-looking seats making them look dull and mundane which makes one feel sick automatically. Different types of travelers have different seating requirements. The variation of seating help passenger to perfectly accommodate their self, according to the phases they are in. In consequence, this waiting area stimulates and maintains the absorption phase of the body and triggers the passenger to successfully board on time voluntarily, without feeling forced neither treated like logistic goods. It means, the comfort of the human body and the state of mind is being taken care of as they board, which indicates the potentials of the waiting area (Pasaribu, Arvanda, & Kusuma, 2018).

•

Seats for the elderly: Tired through their entire journey through the terminal the elderly people need to get comfortable during waiting time and board without stress. Elderly people's need for seating is different from that of younger people, they require proper armrest, backrest as well as proper upholstery.

•

Private seating: It can be for solo or a pair of travelers who require their seats away from the chaos of fellow travelers and spend some time peacefully.Where they can be seated undisturbed

•

Family seating: The travelers with family have a different vibe and excitement before boarding. Family type seating arrangement non-linear lets them talk and be more comfortable.

55

Figure 5.9 Family type seating area(Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Upgrades Departure Gate Experience, 2010)

•

Working desk/working pods: For those who wish to continue with their work either occupy a table in the concession spaces and have to place orders to keep the table or the other option lies in engaging the lounges. Keeping an option of working pods that provide acoustic isolation or a general working desk would give travelers an opportunity. Acoustically isolated, luxury pods may be reserved so that passengers can work and recharge while not sacrificing their proximity to the gate.

Figure 5.10Work pod with an acoustic facility (Nafisshahriar, 2014)

56

•

Relaxing chairs/sleeping pods: Long layovers and flight delays often leave flyers frustrated, uncomfortable, and stuck in the waiting area. They often feel the need to take a break and rest comfortably.

Figure 5.11 Individual sleeping pods

Figure 5.12 Variation in waiting are design(An Airport Terminal That Perks you up instead of grinding you down, 2012)

57

Figure 5.13Reference waiting area design

Figure 5.13 shows how the multiple seating variety can come together and serve as one space.

It serves a variety of passengers by providing them with a choice. The variety given in the lounges can be tried to incorporate in holdrooms less expensively and luxuriously. So, even the economy travelers can get seating of their choice. Plus, it makes breaks the visual monotony of the benches and uplifts space with a number of permutations and combinations available for interesting dynamic furniture and tech layouts.

The capacity of each seating to be provided solely would depend on the survey carried out by the respective airport or a particular region. Factors like what type of flyers the airport caters to become the determining factor of the seating design.

58

6

CONCLUSION

Airport planning has always contained an element of uncertainty. Indeed, the construction of most physical systems is subject to unpredictable changes in requirements. The traditional approach to airport development is no longer considered adequate for current needs. Many authors emphasize the importance of taking a flexible approach when dealing with the volatility and uncertainty associated with this market. One objective of this study is to contribute to the establishment of a concept of design flexibility with airport design. This study intends to find factors that make flexibility important for airport performance. For its implementation, it was considered important to understand the relationship between flexibility and airport performance, i.e., taking notice of how to measure its impact on the functioning of an airport.

This study supported the idea that to cope with market volatility, and the uncertainty on demand, the concept of flexibility is a good solution to the extent that it improves or maintains the airport’s productivity and performance. The study has raised various questions and tried to study them, like studying the impact of form, location, scale, etc of an airport.

This research combines the work of all the authors who worked in this field and the contributions they made, bringing them under one roof for better understanding and comparisons of their ideas.

In this work, a passenger-oriented approach towards developing a deeper understanding of the factors of influence of passenger experience was taken. A part of this study focused on the experience of the passengers in the waiting areas. The focus on the passenger experience has emerged from a variety of orthogonal developments in technology, wireless systems, and social networking. Although each passenger’s experience is unique and subjective, there are generalizations that one can make about sub-groups of passengers. With the study conducted, everything pointed towards an urgency for providing a better suitable new design for waiting areas. The survey results also showed the desperation of the passengers towards wanting an innovative and upgraded design of the waiting area. In conclusion, there is an exigency to upgrade the waiting area experience of the traveler’s. Certain design suggestions made in the final chapter also talk of upraising the waiting areas and open scope for further research on the same.

Based on all the findings of the above chapters it is determined that it is not possible to have a set of design parameters consistent for airports all around the world. However, from point of view of technological aspects and advancements, it can be determined that it shall remain consistent throughout any airport. Conversely, from the standpoint of the design approach, each

59

airport has its various parameters to be anticipated for design. A specific parameter works differently for every airport and hence has to be dealt with differently. As talked earlier, the regions where the airports are located may be considered an important factor, and should not be minimized in the analysis. Thus, performing analysis and surveys by region might bring open many insights and prove advantageous since the airports in different continents have very different realities and ways of functioning, which relate to economic, geographical, and cultural reasons.

With this study a contribution to a better understanding of the flexibility applied to airports was obtained. Also, this study raised an urgency in considering the change in the design of the airport waiting areas for a better and comfortable passenger experience.

It is very important to continue to research the most appropriate methodologies so that their benefits can be evaluated. An in-depth study of the raised issues would contribute to a better understanding of the effects of flexibility on the airport, and thus assess its real impact on performance and productivity.

This research can be continued forward by people who might have a different perspective or other broader insights about the topic that might have been missed out in here. This research forms a base for a further comprehensive study of each of the aspects and questions raised.

With the ongoing advancements and innovations in design and technologies, this research can be upgraded from time to time for better understanding.

60

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1.]

(n.d.). Retrieved from Airport Terminal Operations Limited: https://mauritiusairport.atol.aero/

[2.]

(n.d.). Retrieved from CYND: http://www.yuandacn.com/index.php/en/projects-cn2/230-overseas/japan-and-beyond/mauritius-2/463-sir-seewoosagur-ramgoolaminternational-airport-expansion-project-2.html

[3.]

(n.d.). Retrieved from WIKIPEDIA.

[4.]

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

China

Southern

Airlines:

https://www.csair.com/en/tourguide/airport_service/airports_info/domestic/1e0urvhl3 bead.shtml [5.]

ACRP-25. (2010). Airport Passenger Terminal Planning and Design (Vol. 1).

[6.]

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Upgrades Departure Gate Experience. (2010, June 9).

Retrieved from https://stuckattheairport.com/2010/06/09/amsterdam-schiphol-airportupgrades-departure-gate-experience/

[7.]

An Airport Terminal That Perks you up instead of grinding you down. (2012, June 18).

Retrieved

from

https://www.fastcompany.com/1670064/an-airport-terminal-that-

perks-you-up-instead-of-grinding-you-down [8.]

Bara, B. S., A, S. S., Wakawa, U. B., Umar, A., & Isa, A. A. (2017, May). Flexibility design idea in functional space. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 8(5). Nigeria.

[9.]

Changi

Airport

Group.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

https://www.changiairport.com/en/maps.html#18.5/1.3550017/103.9885069/-67 [10.]

Harrison, A. (2015). Principles of Experience Design for Airport Terminals.

[11.]

LEY FORM . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.leyform.com/lobby-waiting-roomsofas/contemporary-design-lounge-sofas-f-office-waiting-room-kos.html

[12.]

Magalhães, L., Reis, V., & Macário, R. (2012). FLEXIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF AIRPORTS: Where do we stand now? Retrieved June 2020

[13.]

Noctive:

Japan

Nightlife

Entertainment

https://noctive.jp/spot/02301-1503169

61

Media.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

[14.]

Nuefville, R. d., & Odoni, A. (2002). Airport System (2nd ed.).

[15.]

Pasaribu, M. T., Arvanda, E., & Kusuma, N. R. (2018). Active waiting: Potentials of waiting area at airport. IOP Science.

[16.]

Shuchi, S. (2015). A Novel Concept for Airport Terminal Design Integration Flexibility.

Retrieved

from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328399279_A_conceptual_framework_to_I ncorporate_flexibility_yin_airport_terminal_design [17.]

Shui, F. (n.d.). The Feng Shui Architects Blog. Word Press. Retrieved from https://howardchoy.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/chinese-garden.jpg

[18.]

Studio

One

Architects.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

http://studioonearchitecture.ca/portfolio/pier-c-airport-holdroom-architecture/ [19.]

UFL. (2014).

[20.]

Walking in China's New $17 Billion Mega Airport | BEIJING DAXING AIRPORT (2020).

[Motion

Picture].

Retrieved

July

2020,

from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ace377f4UpM&t=1597s [21.]

Ward Robinson. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wardrobinson.com/

[22.]

Wikimedia

Commons.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vancouver_Airport_Aquarium.jpg [23.]

Your

travel

group,

UK.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

from

https://corporate.yourtravelgroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/etihad-businessclass-lounge-auh.jpg

[24.]

Bojovic, M. (2013, April 4). Modular Concept for Future Expansions / Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Foster + Partners. eVob News. Retrieved August 30, 2020, from http://www.evolo.us/modular-concept-for-future-expansions-queen-aliainternational-airport-in-amman-foster-partners/

[25.]

ArchDaily. (2014, February 17). Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Terminal 2

/

SOM.

Retrieved

August

25,

2020,

from

ArchDaily:

https://www.archdaily.com/477107/chhatrapati-shivaji-international-airport-terminal2-som?ad_source=myarchdaily&ad_medium=bookmark-show&ad_content=currentuser

62

[26.]

Nafisshahriar. (2014, May 1). Pods and personal spaces which can be used. Retrieved September

13,

2020,

from

https://nafisshahriar1305773.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/pods-and-personal-spaceswhich-can-be-used/ [27.]

Hoeller, S.-C. (2014, December 8). Airport surfing is actually a thing now. Retrieved August

23,

2020,

from

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/surf-away-on-

stationary-waves-at-munich-airport [28.]

Alem, C. (2015, October). Operational Benefits Evaluation of Airport Flexibility.

Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal. Retrieved August 5, 2020

[29.]

Wolk, J. (2016, December 20). A new installation at Atlanta’s airport transports visitors to a fantasy forest. Atlanta Magazine.

[30.]

I.E. University. (2017, July 6). How technology is shaping the future of design.

Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://drivinginnovation.ie.edu/how-technology-isshaping-the-future-of-design/

[31.]

Chanel, S. (2018, June 21). 12 Amazing Airport Activities That Will Make You Wish for

a

Longer

Layover.

Retrieved

August

15,

2020,

from

https://www.brit.co/international-airport-activities/ [32.]

Travel Weekly. (2018, November 15). “IT’S AN AIRPORT IN A GARDEN” 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHANGI.

[33.]

MAILONLINE. (2019, January 8). Runway views and anti-jet lag massages: The airports around the world that have SWIMMING POOLS. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-6454335/The-airports-worldSWIMMING-POOLS.html

[34.]

Haider, F. (2019, February 09). For domestic fliers, Monday is most crowded at T3, shows

data.

Hindustan

Times.

Retrieved

September

1,

2020,

from

https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/for-domestic-fliers-monday-is-mostcrowded-at-t3-shows-data/story-wAbv41nVoRYsZIaVGPdStN.html [35.]

Airpaz Blog. (2019, February 23). Making Use of Incheon Airport Facilities to Have Enjoyable

Waiting

Time.

Retrieved

August

23,

2020,

https://blog.airpaz.com/en/making-use-of-incheon-airport-facilities-to-haveenjoyable-waiting-time/

63

from

[36.]

Casey, D. (2019, March 7). Asia dominates list of fastest-growing airports. Retrieved August

15,

2020,

from

https://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-

news/283239/asia-dominates-list-of-fastest-growing-airports/ [37.]

Ashford,

N.

J.

(2019,

July

18).

Britannica.

Retrieved

from

https://www.britannica.com/technology/airport [38.]

ArchDaily. (2019, September 27). Beijing Daxing International Airport / Zaha Hadid Architects.

Retrieved

August

25,

2020,

from

ArchDaily:

https://www.archdaily.com/925536/beijing-daxing-international-airport-zaha-hadidarchitects?ad_source=myarchdaily&ad_medium=bookmarkshow&ad_content=current-user [39.]

Avaition

Pros.

(2019,

December

16).

Retrieved

from

https://www.aviationpros.com/airports/buildings-maintenance/seating/pressrelease/21118310/kuschco-gmbh-co-kg-waiting-in-style-in-the-tea-garden [40.]

MAURITIUS AIRPORT TAX REFUND PROCEDURE. (2019, December 23).

Dream

Island.

Retrieved

from

Dream

Island:

https://dreamisland.co.kr/mrutaxrefund/?ckattempt=2 [41.]

World’s Largest Aquarium In Jeddah’s New Airport. (2020, July 31). Retrieved August 23, 2020, from https://mudheshmag.com/2020/07/31/worlds-largest-aquarium-injeddahs-new-airport/

[42.]

ALEC. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2020, from https://alec.ae/portfolio-item/abudhabi-international-airport-a380-stands-hold-room-expansion/#top

[43.]

Micheal

Fedrick

Design.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

August

17,

2020,

from

https://mfrederick.net/files/gimgs/38_flow-diagram.jpg [44.]

Corgan. (2020, August 20).

[45.]

Design Buzz. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2020, from https://designbuzz.com/inteldigital-signage-for-a-mystic-shopping-experience/

[46.]

Glass

Tek.

(n.d.).

Retrieved

August

22,

2020,

from

https://www.glasstekinc.com/interactive-touch-screen-glass-frame/

[47.]

(n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2020, from E-PAO Picture Gallery: http://www.epao.net/epGallery.asp?id=13&src=Around_Globe/India/DelhiAirport2011

64

[48.]

(n.d.).

Retrieved

September

15,

2020,

from

Flicker:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/u07ch/14127868150/in/photostream/ [49.]

Noel, A. (2017, 12 17). 9 Airports That Really Get Into the Holiday Spirit. The Points Guy. Retrieved from https://thepointsguy.com/2017/12/airports-in-holiday-spirit/

APPENDIX A

Survey form link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qjgjyN_VFGDXYb_Dn3YHHQv7mtSHxTNctXkoBqevZn s/edit

Survey Questionnaire: (1.) How was your experience in the waiting room as a flyer, prior to boarding your flight?

(2.)From an architectural point of view, what do you feel was lacking in the design of the waiting area? (explain in depth your views or feeling about the space) (3.) Do you feel the need that the waiting area design should change or get upgraded?

(4.) According to you, how do you imagine yourself spending time in the waiting area?

(5.) What facilities do you wish to enjoy while waiting for your flight in the waiting area?

(6.) Mention some things you saw at a particular airport which caught your eye and you think can be and should be incorporated at other airports. (If possible, please mention the name of the airport)

65