After 15 years of disuse, the Googie architecture-inspired TWA Flight Center at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will be transformed into a hotel.
Gizmodo reports that the city’s Port Authority chose a renovation proposal from Jet Blue this week. The $265 million construction project got backing from Governor Andrew Cuomo this summer.
The hotel will have 505 rooms, 40,000 sf of meeting space, as many as eight restaurants, and a 10,000 sf observation deck that overlooks the runway. The old terminal will serve as the hotel’s lobby, and the rest of the rooms will be set back in a new building, according to Crain’s New York. Construction will begin in 2016, and the hotel is expected to open in 2018.
The terminal was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and built in the early 1960s. The roof helped to make the building stand out. Composed of four counterbalanced shells made of thin concrete, it looked like a bird taking flight, as Gizmodo wrote.
The TWA terminal was also one of the first airport terminals to use some of the most ubiquitous technologies. It utilized baggage carousels, automatic doors, jetways, and electronic departure time boards that were constantly updated.
Many photos of the terminal’s retro-futuristic interior can be seen on Curbed NY.
Photo: Seamus Murray/Creative Commons
Photo: Brett Weinstein/Wikimedia Commons
Photo: julesho/Creative Commons
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Jan 29, 2016
AIRPORT TERMINAL GIANTS: KPF, Jacobs, Hensel Phelps among top airport sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Metals | Jan 19, 2016
6 ways to use metal screens and mesh for best effect
From airy façades to wire mesh ceilings to screening walls, these projects show off the design possibilities with metal.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Airports | Dec 13, 2015
Skybridge connects a terminal and airport on each side of the U.S.-Mexico border
Cross Border Xpress is the first phase of a larger development that will include hotels and offices.
Airports | Dec 4, 2015
National Fire Protection Association drops ban on glass boarding bridges
U.S. airports can now use more aesthetically pleasing building-to-plane links.
Airports | Oct 30, 2015
HOK designs new terminal for Salt Lake City International Airport
The $1.8 billion building will have floor-to-ceiling windows, a spacious central "Canyon," and energy-efficient systems. It will open in 2020.
Airports | Oct 5, 2015
Perkins+Will selected to design Istanbul’s 'Airport City'
The mixed-use development will be adjacent to the Istanbul New Airport, which is currently under construction.
Airports | Sep 30, 2015
Takeoff! 5 ways high-flyin' airports are designing for rapid growth
Nimble designs, and technology that humanizes the passenger experience, are letting airports concentrate on providing service and generating revenue.
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
AIRPORT SECTOR GIANTS: KPF, Hensel Phelps, Jacobs top rankings of nation's largest airport terminal sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Surveys gauge users’ satisfaction with airports
Several surveys gauge passenger satisfaction with airports, as flyers and airlines weigh in on technology, security, and renovations.
