Passenger movement and air terminal design: artworks, wayfinding, commerce, and kinaesthesia. (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hubregtse, Menno
• Is Part Of: Interiors. Volume 7:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 155
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: Air terminal -- art -- architecture -- affect -- interior exhibition; Interior decoration -- Periodicals; Interior architecture -- Periodicals; 747.05
• DOI: 10.1080/20419112.2016.1215678
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-9112

Abstract

Abstract: This essay examines how planners design air terminal interiors to order passenger movement and to stimulate passenger spending. Corridors and escalators are obvious examples of interior design that function to guide passengers through the space. However, there are other subtle strategies such as ceiling designs, flooring patterns, and artworks that are intended to prompt passengers to move towards certain locations. I discuss how these designs operate on an affective register and how planners believe that material cues might stimulate particular types of movement and specific mental states associated with a desire to spend. While this essay examines a number of design strategies, it focuses on how artworks are used in the terminal for wayfinding and commercial purposes. I consider how artworks are installed as landmarks to help with orienting oneself in the terminal and how they are sometimes used to draw passengers towards consumer spaces. I also discuss how planners presume that specific types of artworks will encourage passenger spending. These are often installations that convey themes related to the region where the airport is located. Another widespread theme among airport artworks is movement. In many cases, these artworks signify a relatively unrestricted type of movement that contrasts with the regulated movement that passengers typically experience while flying commercially. I consider how these artworks are able to affect passengers and elicit kinaesthesia, the sensation of movement, and whether these representations of unrestricted movement are installed for functional purposes.