JFK AIRPORT TERMINAL 5
LOCATION / NEW YORK, NY
PROJECT TYPE / HOSPITALITY
3D VISUAL ARTIST / NEPHEW

Slade Architecture collaborated with Westfield on a renovation of JFK Terminal 5.  Our goal was to reimagine the full customer experience from curbside to jetway for the entire Terminal. By creating a new mezzanine level within the existing departure hall volume, we alleviated the overcrowding that was the result of new security/TSA regulation (post 9/11). Using this newfound open floor area, we were able to reimagine the check-in as a welcoming and hospitable experience in this airport design.

Raising the TSA/security screening removed that visual barrier between the departure hall and the terminal, allowing us to visually connect the landside departure hall and the shopping, dining and waiting areas in the newly designed airside portions of the terminal. This openness contributes to a more relaxed and welcoming experience for passengers. The welcome atmosphere is further enhanced by providing seating areas and retail/food venues where friends and family can have a relaxed few minutes to say their goodbyes or recollect before going up the mezzanine security screening. 

Airside, the terminal waiting areas were reimagined as urban plazas and streets with sitting, shopping and eating areas interspersed throughout the terminal.  The goal was to create a more relaxed social atmosphere that resonates with a hospitality sensibility.  This, in turn, alleviates the stress of travel. The possibility of a meander through this enriched environment provides passengers with a pleasurable preflight option and enriches airport concessionaires. A new rooftop space was imagined as an attached greenhouse with a large outdoor seating area that includes play areas as well as a small dog run for passengers traveling with pets.