Design Principal Peter Ruggiero guides viewers through the process of designing the optimal terminal and describes how the team created an exceptional passenger experience at LaGuardia’s new Terminal B.
Sketching on tracing paper to illustrate his thoughts, Ruggiero begins by describing the evolution of airport design configurations from linear to finger/pier (the concept for the original LaGuardia Airport), to the more recent satellite concept used for LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B. He details how this “islands and bridges” plan improves airplane circulation and makes gates more flexible, reducing airport delays.
“There are lots of causes for frustration at airports,” says Ruggiero. “The last thing that we’d want to have is the terminal contribute to that frustration.”
Ruggiero also explains how many aspects of the Terminal B interior design, from the overall transparency and intuitive wayfinding to the enhanced amenities and security checkpoints, create “a less stressful, more entertaining and memorable” passenger experience. He also describes the “wonderful kind of monumental civic space” and unique bridge over an active taxiway that greet arriving travelers.
HOK is part of the LaGuardia Gateway Partners team redeveloping the new Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport and was also hired by the Port Authority for master planning on the new unified airport. Terminal B is a public private partnership (P3) and partners such as Vantage Airport group worked closely with HOK on design elements.