Images captured from AGS design video here
8:00am | There are many aspects of the Long Beach Airport to appreciate, from convenient parking to the attractive Streamline Moderne main terminal building. Unique experiences to the airport including accessing the plane across the tarmac and retrieving checked in baggage from a covered, open-air space are treasured by some passengers and despised by others. But few people enjoy waiting for their flight in the series of cramped shed structures with the only bottled drinks and premade foods to satiate appetites before getting on an even more cramped plane with arguably worse food. With the proposed airport modernization designers were challenged to create a new facility that builds upon the positive aspects of the current airport while improving those negative features.
While final judgment will have to wait until the improvements are actually built and experienced, the design provided by the team of HOK (Architecture) and Melendrez (Landscape Architecture) recently presented to the planning commission attempts to do both; retaining the character of the existing facility while taking it into the modern age. Protecting the historic terminal building and limiting the overall facility size from the foundation of the expanded airport complex. It appears that the design team not only manages these criteria but uses them to create a uniquely Long Beach experience for travelers.
The Horace Austin and Kenneth Wing designed Terminal Building centrally organizes the design and plan of the updated airport complex. Because of landmark’s historic significance the modernization plan must respect the architectural character of building by not overwhelming its massing or architecture with the new additions to the complex. This has dictated the siting of the new gate structure away from the street behind the vintage terminal building as well as the at-grade boarding and disembarking configuration. The holding rooms currently located within the three portable buildings are consolidated into a new single structure’s whose low slung roof and simple silhouette plays a secondary role in every possible way to the main terminal building.
The current structure housing half of gates 1 through 9 is converted into the security checkpoint and consolidating the eleven gates into a single efficient structure. Baggage handling for arriving and departing passengers is managed as they currently are, retaining the open air accessory structures distributed about the complex. Consolidating the holding rooms and security facilities provides a clearer procession for departing passengers while removing some redundancy of personnel and facilities.
Passengers will enter at the center of the new permanent gate structure with two holding rooms containing four gates in the south wing and seven in the north wing. The wings have simple organizations; restrooms, concessions and most importantly, a restaurant are arranged along the east side with the holding room along the west. The high ceilings and floor to ceiling glass will fill the space with natural light while providing a fascinating view of airplane operations. With so much transparency along the western face of the building sun-shading devices will be of the utmost importance to avoid solar heat gain.
The trio of snack stands in the current holding rooms will be replaced by a multitude of concession spaces that can provide a more diverse offering of snacks, merchandise and reading material. The addition of a restaurant within the gate area will be a huge benefit for those travelers looking for freshly prepared food before embarking on their respective flight or looking for a drink to take the edge off flying. Let’s hope that like Legends of Aviation restaurant in the main terminal building, tenants selected for the new structure will reflect the character of Long Beach.
As part of the ongoing tug-of-war over the scale of the airport modernization concessions have been made to limit the area of the new structures, with holding rooms that spatial could use an additional five or ten feet of width to reusing one of the existing portable shelters for the security checkpoint. One method to reduce the facility’s size at least on paper is actually one of the design features that will make the airport one of the finest in Southern California. Connecting the security checkpoint to the two wings of gates is a large courtyard with covered concourses providing shelter for passengers walking between buildings.
For arriving passengers it is an introduction to the region’s wonderful weather; whether traveling for pleasure or business the experience casts a lit bit of leisure on any trip. For departing passengers it is a reminder what they are leaving behind when they board the plane. Southern California’s unmatched temperate climate greets and bid farewell to travelers with 330 days of sunshine a year. It would be of little surprise if the outdoor space becomes the most popular for waiting passengers. In the future there might even be the opportunity to add another restaurant with an outdoor dining patio adjacent to the courtyard.
Another clever feature of the exterior circulation for the airport complex is that not since the operations of airports have grown more complex with security and baggage handling has such a great view of the architecture of the west façade been available. Overall, the proposed design for modernizing the Long Beach Airport seems to significantly improve passenger comfort while providing a uniquely Southern California experience. The design takes full advantage of what were consider constraints to celebrate the climate and architecture of the city creating a great point of arrival and departure for Long Beach.