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THOMPSON, HANCOCK, WITTE & ASSOCIATES

CINCINNATI AIRPORT, TERMINAL 3


Northern Kentucky. US

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport was already Delta Airlines' most profitable hub after Atlanta when the decision was taken to invest $180 million in new facilities. In view of the c i t y ' s claim to lie within an hour's flying distance of sixty-two per cent of the American population, such expansion is inevitable. Here Delta has its own terminal. Terminal 3, linked by underground train and walkways to island Concourses A and B. The new facility opened in 1994. The architects, THW, originally worked in accordance with the Atlanta plan, in which the terminal is sited at one end and linear transportation is run to successive island concourses. However, they concluded that such a layout hampered ease of orientation. If passengers missed the signs it would be just as easy to end up at a concourse further out when they merely wished to progress to baggage claim. This lack of orientation could have serious consequences for passengers with connecting flights. The perennial problem, according to THW, is that once passengers enter many airports their exact location may not be clear: without constant reference to signs, there is no way of checking their bearings. At Cincinnati, the architects' guiding principle has been that passengers should be aware of their route. The link between parking decks, terminal and concourses runs through the middle of each building and is emphasized by glass skylights, clerestories and windows. This enables passengers to locate their destination and their aircraft as they move through the airport. As Witte explains, regardless of one's height the ceiling is always in view, and changes in materials, color and form communicate the location. The terminal is very open, with ticketing situated above and baggage claim below. Passengers who have tickets but no baggage can bypass the Terminal completely, going direct from the parking zone through a security check to the transportation mall. A tight budget meant that the new terminal had to be a basic structure, virtually a warehouse. THW has sought to give it individuality by adopting a Cincinnati theme, that of the great bridges across the Ohio River. 'We used industrial architecture. The roof deck and the mechanical systems are all exposed as in a warehouse', says Witte; structural elements are designed to suggest bridges. The terminal also incorporates five huge mosaic tile murals that were originally in the Cincinnati train terminal and later moved to the old air terminal building. The architects developed a hierarchy of wall finishes. Metal cladding or masonry was used where surfaces were vulnerable to damage or scuffing from baggage or maintenance carts, while the area above might simply be painted. Outside, aluminum panels were used in public areas; where there is less visibility, lower cost stainless steel panels were used.

Beneath each concourse is a cavernous concrete hall with a highly automated baggage system capable of handling 2,500 bags a minute. This is run from a control room at the top of the hall. Equally impressive are the communication finks. The subway train has been supplied by Otis Elevators and is a new application of its elevator technology. The new people movers glide on a thin cushion of air, pulled back and forth along the tunnel by a cable. At both ends are giant wheels and huge counterweights that drop 10 meters below this sub-grade level. The cars, which are linked in threes and can move 6,000 people an hour, are claimed to be more stable than trains that run on traditional tracks. The main propulsion motors are at both ends rather than on the trains themselves.

JSK PERKINS & WILL

FRANKFORT AIRPORT, TERMINAL 2


Germany

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