The New International Terminal at LAX

 

 – By Al Cross, vice president

 

I travel for business often. It can be grueling; and sadly, it often means I am trapped somewhere I would prefer not to be, noticing every negative aspect of a poorly-designed place. But, perhaps that only serves to elevate the enjoyment when I encounter something I like.

International travelers departing from Los Angeles have been treated to some pretty depressing surroundings for quite a long time, and the time zone differences with Asia almost guarantee long layovers in the infamous Tom Bradley International Terminal.

Recently however, the International Terminal Concourse has been replaced and, having traveled through it twice since, I am prepared to declare it a success … because the traveler’s/guest’s experience has been recognized as important, and the designers appear to have overcome the normal obstacles such a place can present.

A Walking Tour by Michael Jiroch

Chief among the successes in this new place are the genuinely beautiful overhead video displays that greet the arriving guest just after security. These come in multiple forms and one realizes later in the experience that many such high resolution video moments occur throughout the place. Clever content relating to travel, departure, arrival and exotica loop continuously. In truth, these displays are so compelling that they dominate the overall experience … and I can tell you … the rest of the experience is awfully good.

This particular terminal sports some rather mediocre airline lounges. I predict that their popularity will wane in the face of this new, better, “in-the-terminal” experience, importantly because the food and beverage offerings out in the terminal are varied, and are designed as high-touch places with an appropriately Los Angeles vibe. In the center, a collection of restaurants and bars not only appear to be a pleasant hang-out, but they provide a great vantage point of aforementioned video screens. (They really are somewhat intoxicating.)

I was also struck by a small sign I noticed attached to the seating in the bar I chose. It discreetly bore the name of a well-known retail mall developer. The F and B, the retail, and therefore some of the primary place-making elements in this experience were … “developed” … by a developer … a mall developer. Are you pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ out here? Upon reaching this realization, I felt compelled to look around again. This second look actually caused me to be even more impressed. There was genuine care and concern for the quality of the materials, the organization, and the overall design of the place. And get this … there is convenient electrical power everywhere. I know, right?

 

To understate the overly obvious … quite a few people flow through this place every day. The rights to provide these outlets must’ve been acquired through a highly competitive process. I wish I knew more about it. I would love to know if the “experience design attitude” here was a requirement of participation or an offering to gain competitive advantage. Either way … it happened … and it works.

As I consider this, I tangentially wonder what role the architect occupied. Fentress (one of the grand old firms of American Architecture whom I’ve always respected), led the project. I suspect it was, in every way, a challenge just to get this major design and construction endeavor designed, documented, priced and understood. In that context, any criticism seems unfair. However, what strikes me most is that the roof … a bold series of shell-shapes, are simply NOT top-of-mind to a traveler. It’s all the other stuff. It’s the “experience design content.” My guess … only a guess … is that Fentress deferred the design of this important element to others while embracing the “larger” role (a perception) of designing the building.

So … What’s important here?

This notion of creating specific, focused experience (one now hears the term Experience Design … people refer to themselves as “Experience Designers”) has become a sophisticated, sub-set of the larger practice of Architecture. I have always defined Architecture widely, as the making of places for people. What concerns me is that some architects (the world’s oldest experience design and place-making profession), have accidentally abdicated the most important place in it. (Architects have done this sort of thing before to negative effect. Think Cost Estimating in the 1970’s and ‘80’s, or glass facade detailing in the current era.)

The entertainment industry is partly responsible for this. The video technology that produces the incredible resolutions in display hardware are coming from companies that primarily serve video content creators. That means movie producers, show producers, etc., etc. Furthermore, the world has been taught to believe that such people are the most creative people and, in LA in particular, the idea of having anyone from outside that world “lead” such an endeavor would be anathema. I think this is wrong, but I also I expect this to become a trend. It wouldn’t be the first time that the entertainment industry changed the Architecture profession.

This intersection of disciplines and desires represents a new, critical moment in the evolution of my chosen profession (of course, it’s not really new … it’s been coming for a long time). Genuinely inclusive design, which delivers experiences built from sensitivity to what people feel as they move in and through a place, girded with modern entertainment technology can create wonder and new excitement in our work. But it can easily go wrong to the detriment of everyone. The place-making leadership in any project should be executed by someone who understands the small and the large, the individual moment and the whole, the cost and the reward. This someone must be able to prioritize that which ultimately matters: the user, the visitor, and the guest.

So go look up that roof at the LAX international terminal. I know it was fabulously expensive, but I have to admit … it’s pretty cool. But even if some of the investment went to elements not as immediately meaningful to the traveler as the media content, the team … city, developer, media experience expert, and architect … however that team may have been arranged … certainly succeeded.

Renovation Time Lapse Video by EarthCam