Posts in the category "Architecture":

New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB) may be unique among airports in having a gallery space open to the public and an on-site curator who is also an artist.  So it’s always a treat when a new exhibition kicks off.

The newest one, Material Witness, is no exception.

(Model City, 2009, Assorted study models, cardboard, paper, plastic, metal, glue, tape)

Produced in cooperation with the nearby Rensselaer Schools of Architecture, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, the exhibit includes drawings, photographs, study models and site-specific constructions, including floor-to-ceiling “trash walls” that reflect the possibilities found in discarded or recycled materials.

(Trash Walls, (detail), 2009, found material constructions)

Material Witness is in the Albany International Airport Gallery, pre-security on the third floor of the terminal through June 20, 2010.

Categories: Architecture, Art, Exhibits
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I spent much of the day yesterday writing a column for MSNBC.com about the pros and cons of airport body scanners.

That column, which posts Thursday, January 14^th, 2010, focuses on some of the privacy issues surrounding the “virtual strip search” aspect of these machines.

I didn’t have room for in the story for the comments of airport terminal planner and designer, Pat Askew, from Perkins+Will.

We don’t think of it right away, but Askew points out that these big, expensive body scanner machines will not only change the TSA procedures, but also have an impact on the look and layout of present – and future – airport terminals.

Askew says:

• Body scanning machines take more space, especially width-wise, than do the current magnetometers (or walk-through metal detectors).  It’s already hard to find space in existing terminals for all the necessary equipment they needs to be there;
• Processing rates are greater with body scanners than with metal detectors. This means longer lines, more machines – and more required space;
• Explosive detection devices for carry-ons will soon be required. This equipment will be smaller, but similar to the technology currently used for checked luggage. It will replace the current x-ray machines used to examine carry-ons and operate in much the same way, but may be larger and slower….and need more space.

So next time you’re Stuck at the Airport, take a good look around. That great piece of public art in the terminal may soon need to make way for a hulking piece of security equipment.

Categories: Architecture, Security, Terrorism, TSA
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First impressions are important, especially if you’re a city and you’d like folks who are just passing through to come back and stay awhile.  So you’d think every city would want its airport – its front door – to be all pretty and nice.

Like, say, Auckland Airport. Check out what greets visitors arriving on international flights:

No one is going to mistake this for an airport in Omaha, now are they?

And here’s another nice touch:  volunteers at the Auckland airport greet every international flight with complimentary coffee, tea, and travel information.

Categories: Air Travel, Architecture, Art, Assistance, Etiquette, Exhibits
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From now through May 1, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (224 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago) is featuring a free exhibition about the architecture of O’Hare International Airport.

Frequent travelers who have spent way too much time stuck at O’Hare may quibble, but this exhibition looks at the airport “as an international model of airport design.”

How’s that?

“Innovations such as a central parking garage, movable jetway bridges, and the two-tiered drive separating arrivals and departures, established O’Hare as the industry standard for jet-age airport design.”

Decide for yourself: The exhibition includes photographs of O’Hare from the 1950s through the 1980s, a pair of Eames O’Hare Tandem Sling Seats, an acoustic installation of airport sounds, and a newspaper brochure with additional historical material.

The exhibition is curated by Charles Waldheim, principal of Urban Agency and director of the landscape architecture program at the University of Toronto.

Photos:  “View of Upper Level Ticketing Lobby, Chicago O’Hare International Airport,” 1963. Hedrich-Blessing photo, courtesy Chicago History Museum,

Above: “Entryway Drive Upper Level and Terminal Buildings, Chicago O’Hare International Airport,” 1963. Hedrich-Blessing photo, courtesy Hedrich-Blessing Archive / Chicago History Museum,

Categories: Architecture, Exhibits
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