Toilet rooms are important features of an air terminal. They must be easy to find and designed with additional clearances for adults with children and the passage of luggage. At Terminal 1, they are brightly lit, easy to clean and maintain, and designed to minimize traffic congestion. Floors are terrazzo with fine-grain aggregate and matching base. Walls are ceramic tile and back-painted glass. Toilet partitions are stainless steel.
Retail shops and dining options can greatly enhance the travel experience. In Terminal 1, the airport authority has made a concerted effort to bring in local vendors. This strategy contributes to generating a more genuine sense of place with local color and flavor proudly on display. Architectural guidelines were developed by the design team to allow for some degree of individual expression but not so much as to distract from a cohesive sense of architectural order.
As part of a Public Arts Program, three artists were selected to produce pieces for specific locations in the terminal. Two of the pieces are glassworks. The third is a unique sculptural installation. The biggest of the glassworks is located next to the departure stair and escalator. It is a brightly colored composition incorporating a variety of colors and images of local interests, including relief maps of the region. The second glass installation is adjacent to TSA screening. It is photographically enlarged and enhanced images of raindrops hitting a pool of water. The images are laser etched in a manner that produces the effect of “movement” as you walk by. The sculptural installation above the baggage claim area is of monochromatic life-sized human characters in various poses. The most provocative of these characters are the high-wire walkers traversing the space some 20-feet above the floor.
Meeting Today’s Expectation
From the landside approach to the terminal, the project presents a new and architecturally exciting face. A new building canopy and commercial curb canopy extend along the length of the terminal. The canopies are very expressive of their structural tectonics and clad in reflective aluminum panels. Signage, lighting, security fencing and street furnishings are carefully integrated into the canopy designs.
The reflective underside of the canopies serves a very specific purpose. The canopies themselves made it impossible to use pole-mounted fixtures to light the roadway. The solution to this problem is achieved by a combination of direct linear fluorescent lighting from the canopy edges and indirect lighting reflected off the canopy undersides.
The renovated Terminal 1, which reopened to travelers in April 2014, has been well received by the community and the traveling public. In its renovated configuration, it offers the range of amenities and the architectural aesthetic expected by today’s air passengers. It represents a complete transformation from the previous terminal and an enduring one we hope will engage and facilitate those who use it.
Retrofit Team
Owner: Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
Design Architect: Clark Nexsen, Raleigh, N.C.
Contractor/CM at Risk: Balfour Beatty Construction, Charlotte, N.C.
Consulting Interior Architect: The Freelon Group (now Perkins + Will), Durham, N.C.
Program Manager: Parsons Corp., Morrisville, N.C.
Structural Engineer: LHC Structural Engineers, Raleigh
Civil Engineer: RS&H, Raleigh
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineer: O’Brien/Atkins Associates, Durham
Materials
Insulated Metal Panels: CENTRIA
Insulated Fiberglass Panels: Kalwall
Glass Curtainwall: Efco
Non-insulated Aluminum Panels: Alpolic
Flooring/Carpet: Powerbond VCTT (Variable Cushion Tufted Textile) from Tandus Flooring
Acoustical Ceilings: Armstrong
Terrazzo Flooring: David Allen Co.
Ceramic Tile: Daltile
Back-painted Glass: Tate Ornamental Inc.
Elevators: Schindler
Toilet Partitions: Accurate Partitions Corp.
High-impact Wall Cladding: Environmental Interiors Inc.
PHOTOS: © Mark Herboth