GG: Do you think there is a cultural life to Airport City? What do you think of all the public art in airports? SD: I think if you are a business traveller, public art just flashes by. The only time it doesn’t flash by is if you’re stuck somewhere. It’s something to kill time, but it’s never a reason why you’re there. There used to be no choice other than the cafeteria and the newsstand. And now with the invention of the air mall, and bringing in branded restaurants and fast food chains, you actually have a choice. That’s great because you can do shopping on the way. If I forgot a shirt, now I can pick one up at the air mall. You could live in an airport. I wouldn’t recommend it, but you could probably get away with it. Especially in the modern ones: Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, one of the two has a really well-done mall.
GG:What distinguishes one airport from another for you? SD: The newer airports take into account certain built-in conveniences. The whole idea of getting you somewhere as quickly and cleanly as possible. It’s basically the ability to avoid tourists. You want to be able to get around them. You want to be able to expedite yourself. GG: What kind of spatial qualities correspond to that? SD: There are double moving walkways, so there’s one where people can stand and herd their children and one so the rest of us can get past them. A lot of airports have dual both directions, so it’s like a four lane highway. Also they have very wide open areas, where you can just walk. It’s about sheer volume. You need to have space to move around. Families gang up in a row 5 people across, with their arms stretched out—it’s like ‘red
GG: What might you propose if your were mayor of Airport City? SD: Maybe some sort of educational program of how to get through an airport. It’s funny because you can buy a ticket, but you don’t have any idea of what’s going to happen.Travelling at Christmas for business is hell because there are lots of people who don’t travel except for that one time of year. It’s not just them; it’s them and their three kids and Grandma. So they’re trying to figure out the social dynamic of keeping that group together while they have to deal with security and check-in. It’s weird to see them try to stumble through it. And I feel sorry for them, because it’s not their fault they don’t understand how to do this. They almost need a how-to guide. It would be like being thrown into downtown Mexico City and not speaking Spanish.
GG: Have you ever made a friend in an airport or met the same people more than once? SD: Airline crew. I’ve met the same airline crew on their regular flights. I take the same flights on a regular basis. It is like going to the same coffee shop on a regular. As for friends, even though you might be a business traveler and I’m a business traveler and we’re sitting 3 or 4 seats away, I might go so far as to ask “May I borrow your newspaper?” but we’re not going to strike up a conversation because, again, it’s a functional thing. You’re not there to meet people. You’re there to get on a plane. You’re in your own space and you don’t mind interacting to a certain degree but you don’t want to get involved in a deep conversation. That’s not generally why you’re there.
GG: Does the sheer number of citizen effectively make this Airport City a civic entity? SD: I don’t think we view it as a community that we need to give back to. The airlines and the service staff are there to service us; they’re not there as a community. They go home to their real communities at the end of the day, and we go home to our real communities at the end of the day. Sometimes I might spend 24 hours in an airport, if I have a lay-over and I am stuck there. Some airports even have hotels so you can sleep there. But it still never really becomes a city.
rover’. Make it bigger and I’m happier. I want facilities on a regular basis. I want a washroom every 2 gates because I don’t want to have to leave my gate. It’s even how the washrooms are laid out; how stalls are now extra wide so I can keep my baggage with me. Doorways need to be bigger because I’m carrying luggage. At home you can just put your luggage down and walk through a regular door, but when you’re traveling you have to keep everything with you, so you’re expanded. It’s not just you; it’s you and your stuff.
Geoffrey Gibson is a Canadian architect working in San Francisco.
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ON SITE review 5
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