The brand new US$1.5 billion extension of Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was unveiled last week.
“People will know that this airport went from the worst – let's be honest, that's what it was – to a world-class facility that sets a new standard,” the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, said. As the sixth busiest airport in the world, the facility, and particularly this 29-year-old terminal, was well overdue for a refresh.
“Years ago airplanes didn't have much range, but today you can fly from anywhere in the world, to anywhere else in the world without stopping, so we [LAX] are no longer a mandatory force-feed market; we are competing with every other city that has woken up and realised that international flights are an absolute breadbasket and backbone for their economy,” said Los Angeles World Airports executive director Gina-Marie Lindsey.
This new facility broke ground in February 2010, and extension adds a total of 1.2 million sq ft (111,484 sqm) – doubling the overall size of TBIT. This is phase one of two in a US$4.1 billion LAX capital improvement programme – the largest public works project in the city's history.
Some of the impressive new features include a 150,000 sq ft (13,935.5 sqm) Great Hall; spacious boarding gates with half the seats integrated with electrical outlets and USB ports; 18 new airline gates, nine of which are able to handle A380s, making the terminal the world's largest facility for double-deckers; triple and dual laser-based automated passenger boarding bridges and aircraft docking systems; and two additional taxilanes.
The terminal was designed by Fentress Architects in the shape of waves, taking inspiration from the Pacific Ocean. There is also lots of glass integrated in the design to allow California's abundant sunshine to flood the terminal floor. These features “give you a nice warm hug when you walk in, and make you feel good,” said Curtis W Fentress, chief designer of the new TBIT, who has also designed the Incheon Airport in Seoul. He added that the layout of the new terminal hopes to allow for the movement of 4,500 passengers per hour “from the gate to the curbside in 20 minutes”.
There are also 60 dining and retail outlets, including 22 LA brands such as Fred Segal, Kitson and Michael Kors. Hong Kong-based duty free outlet DFS, meanwhile, has a 25,000 sq ft (2,323 sqm) of retail space which not only offers luxury beauty products, watches and alcohol and tobacco, but also provides unique experiences for the passenger. There will be a permanent tasting bar in the alcohol area, for example, complete with a surrounding LED display of scenes from LA. Complimentary two-to-ten minute make-up refresher sessions are also available from many of the major beauty brands, such as Bobbi Brown, and free hand and arm massages are provided by the L'Occitaine and Jo Malone stations. The Estee Lauder area, meanwhile, includes a skin care consultation counter. DFS also rotates bilingual staff according to the flight schedules, and provide a Platinum Services Club to loyal and returning customers, which functions much like a personal travel advisor of yours while you are on your trip to Los Angeles.
Strikingly large multimedia installations have also been incorporated in the design. “Media – part of what Los Angeles was always about – is a very big part of this terminal. You will not go anywhere else in the world that has this integrated into the architecture and passenger experience like this,” Lindsey enthused.
Seven media features, including a 72-foot-tall (22 metres) digital Time Tower and a multi-panel screen suspended from the high ceiling, display alternating images to create a moving art pieces. There are also tall digital pillars that carry colourful designs that respond to the movement of the terminal dwellers around them.
On top of this there will be an entire refresh of the terminal facade, beginning with the 10-foot-tall (three metres) bronze head of Tom Bradley.
Phase two of TBIT's regeneration involves demolition of the east side gates and replacing them with more new boarding bridges and aircraft aprons, upgrading of federal customs and immigration inspection areas, more art installations and secured corridors between terminals three, four and TBIT for improved passenger flow efficiency. TBIT, in its entirety, is expected to be ready in 2015.
For more information, visit www.lawa.org/welcomelax.aspx
Alex Andersson
