Subtle Design Tricks of Airports

As more and more passengers take to the skies, airports are becoming more user-friendly than ever. While navigating New York’s JFK or Los Angeles LAX Airport might seem overwhelming, imagine how much work it was for architects and engineers to design those spaces to get people where they need to be as efficiently as possible. Here are some subtle tricks used to get from point A to B in an airport:

Intuitive Wayfinding: a method of guiding travelers toward their destination in a way that feels natural and doesn’t require them to stop and think about it. This includes everything from colors to lighting, signage, and typography. Some airports use escalators and elevated spaces that offer passengers a bird’s-eye view of a space before navigating it.

Landslide vs. Airside: Airports are generally divided into two sections, landside and airside, with security checkpoints acting as a barrier between them. The landside is where you first enter the airport and includes the curbside, check-in desks, and the arrival hall. The airside is everything else: departure gates, gift shops, restaurants, taxiways and runways. One workaround that has been used is installing high ceilings to the landside area and slanting ceilings lower as they reach the security area. This naturally draws travelers’ eyes toward security.

Your Task:
Choose a space (could be a restaurant, stores, sports complex, your school, etc.) that you think could use a design overhaul. Imagine you’re an architect. How would you redesign the space to make it easier for customers?

Interested in airports or air travel, join the Aerospace Engineering Challenge: Next-Gen Flight (starts Oct. 13) for a chance to win $$$.