Airport Experience® News - 20 Years of the AX Conference

Above: The “sense of place” concept has been popular in airports for nearly two decades but has evolved dramatically. Today, sense of place means a mix of art, entertainment, media and local concepts to create a unique experience

THE AIRPORT’S DESIGN EVOLUTION How Two World-Altering Events Two Decades Apart Have Affected The Look And Feel (local brewery concept Fat Bottom at Nashville International Airport shown).

BY SALLY KRAL

Just as the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 brought about a major upheaval of aviation operations with lasting effects, 20 years ago was a similarly disruptive time for the industry, as the 9/11 attacks had happened just two years prior. “Airports were still reacting and adjusting to post-9/11 security measures, all of which were fluid and ever-changing,” recalls Geoffrey Ax, principal and aviation market leader at Populous . “Non-passengers were no longer allowed past security, and the industry was attempting to determine passenger processing times and where and how to implement security equipment Left: Geoffrey Ax, principal and aviation market leader at Populous, notes that today’s most progressive airports are often those that feature food market halls that closely reflect the surrounding city or region and that create experiential opportunities for different tastes.

throughout the passenger check-in and baggage drop-off areas. At the same time, many airports were starting to implement tenant design guidelines that were meant to assist concessionaires - however, these created more boundaries.” Indeed, the repercussions for airport tenants, as well as designers, was profound. “The impact of 9/11 on airport planning, and the concessions business in general, cannot be underestimated,” notes Brent North, vice president of buildings at Stantec Architecture . “In the blink of an eye, the proportion of viable concessions space moved overwhelmingly post-security, leaving pre-security offerings either vacant or financially subsidized,” he says. “Not only did this change the location of the leased space, it also meant that the goods on sale changed when local non-passengers were no longer part of the customer base, which ultimately affected tenant designs.”

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AX NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024