An article in Architectural Record magazine on the renovation and expansion of Fairbanks International Airport describes the terminal as a "refreshing contrast to the local built environment."
The national magazine deals with many aspects of architecture and interior design, mainly for an audience of architects and engineers.
Writer Weld Royal says the design created by Bettisworth North, a company founded by C.B. Bettisworth, uses common materials in a contemporary form:
The airport’s face to those arriving by road is a glass-paneled curtain wall marked by four vestibules in orange glass. Their permanent lighting gives off a firelike glow against the darkness, which by December descends on Fairbanks for all but a few hours.
Mechanical relics of abandoned mines provide inspiration for the entry hall. A series of nonstructural steel columns set up a nice vertical rhythm against the long horizontal structure. Their rusty patina is repeated inside the entry lobby. Metal sheets sprayed with an acid solution take on the color of worn leather and clad prominent interior wall spaces.
Visitors move through the lobby on an axial circulation path that extends like a spine along the front of the building and passes ticketing areas, rental-car booths, and baggage claim. “In the original terminal, people had no space to walk, but whether or not to build the spine was one of the biggest design decisions,” says Bettisworth.
The simple parti is bordered by exposed steel pillars wrapped in concrete planks. The planks were formed using a mold based on local spruce, giving the space a woody feeling. The path’s ceiling is heavy timber construction and glulam beams. The use of wood is repeated in paneling and ceilings throughout the terminal — conveying warmth and connecting travelers to Alaska’s great forests and a prevalent local construction material.
The transition of finishes and materials from the first-floor entry hall to the second-floor concourse is meant to convey to departing travelers the idea that they are leaving a pioneer town for a more refined destination, and just the opposite for those arriving.
The materials on the concourse are the same as the entry hall, but more polished. Its floor is covered in rich cherry wood; its wall panels are stainless steel. The volume of the concession area, with 22-foot-high ceilings, is double that of the concourse’s lounges. A glass-paneled expanse looks out to the Alaska Range. “When the sun shines, it’s magnetic,” says Bettisworth.
Maybe they could burn old tires and waste oil in the outdoor boiler.
Maybe we should add a very large outdoor wood furnace for with the designers out there feeding the logs on the fire.
Airline terminals age much faster than other public structures because they become obsolete at the pace of aviation industry changes. As they are required to handle new planes, security requirements, etc. the physical plant must be rennovated. Most airports have at least a major rennovation every few decades.
Why isn't there a full restruant in the airport? Because we are a destination. Very few people are laying over in the terminal waiting for a flight to another place. Those are the people who mostly eat in airports.
As for it's lack of "Fairbanksness," I think that a modern building with wooden accents is a wonderful addition to Fairbanks. While they could have kept the sheetrock and that funky staircase from the old terminal out of some sort of sense of nostalgia, why?
Actually, I would have been happy to see CB get these kudos from the magazine... if the airport was in some other city where the design better matched the place. I enjoy the architecture in the new Anchorage and Seattle airports... and would appreciate this one a lot more if it was somewhere else.
I've seen a lot of people get off a plane and go "Are we in Portland?" Seriously, I like the outside appearance CB but couldn't it have been more Alaskan inside?
I too would rather see a nice restaurant upstairs. The coffee is nice but a good meal? Fugeddaboutit.
I actually think the new building looks nice though both spendy and that orange vestibule needs to be changed.
Also, I too miss the old Bush Pilot Restaurant and Lounge. You used to be able to get a Burger and Fries for $9 and a good serving too. Soda was under $2 from the fountain, the prices were jacked up but not unreasonable for an airport. I suspect the $9 tuna sandwich reference is about $4 for the tuna sandwich and $5 to pay down the renovation bonds.
*NOTE: In fairness I work for the contractor that provides food service at the airport but am not directly affiliated with the airport nor do I actually know their commission rates but I am highly suspicious that they really jacked the rates up. Also, for the record, there is more space in the lavatory on your jet than there is in the new kitchen. Good luck getting burgers back.
They took down the old airport & built one almost exactly like the old one except smaller, w/o amenities & w/o the art & artifacts. WTG. Lots of people have made mega-bucks off the Homeland Security boondoggle.
Specifically, I think the ugly orange panels need to be replaced -- they make the airport seem like it's still under construction!
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