New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 35/02C | Page 44

the vision to reinvent the terminal as a world-class
hotel with 512 guestrooms, a 4650m 2 state-of-the-
art meeting and event space, and a variety of high
quality food, beverage and retail options.
Lubrano Ciavarra Architects (LCA) undertook the
role of design consultant and design architect, with
Beyer Blinder Belle as project architect and preser-
vation architect Stonehill Taylor as interior designer.
The events centre was by INC Architecture & Design.
The guest rooms are in two low-rise curved hotel
structures set back on either side of the terminal,
designed to defer to the historic landmark.
Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center terminal building
serves as the hotel lobby, which at 18,500m 2 is
thought to be the largest hotel lobby in the world.
Hotel guests and passengers from every terminal
have easy access to the TWA Hotel via the AirTrain
as well as through the famous Saarinen passenger
tubes that connect directly to JFK’s Terminal 5.
These tubes look straight out of James Bond and
feature in the DiCaprio movie Catch Me if You Can.
The TWA Hotel also houses a Jet Age and Mid-
century-Modern museum that chronicles the design
era and the rise of the Jet Age – exhibiting mid-
century furniture, TWA uniforms, flight posters and
other memorabilia.
Principal at LCA Anne Marie Lubrano says her
firm understood the primary goal for the adaptive
reuse of the Flight Center to a full-service hotel was
the restoration of Saarinen’s masterpiece itself.
“As such, we approached the design of the new
hotel components as an opportunity to restore the
composition of the overall site,” says Lubrano.
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“Our primary understanding of the Flight Center
had to be as a sculptural object.”
Saarinen’s sinuous forms – there are no straight
lines in the building – obscure the distinction
between floor, wall and ceiling, and blur the line
between sculpture and architecture. And as with
any great artwork, its context or setting is critical.
When the terminal first opened, the Flight Center
was surrounded by extensive tarmac and open sky.
However, over time, the scene became encum-
bered by the necessities of a contemporary
airport – wrapped by elevated and sunken road-
ways, pedestrian skywalks, air trains, terminal
expansions, parking structures and jet fences.
“To restore an uncluttered backdrop, the new
hotel facades are considered as continuous vertical
glazed surfaces acting as an extension of the sky.
And the iconic Flight Centre once again stands out
against this constant background.”
In fact, glazing is something of an understatement.
The guest rooms in both wings take in the action of
one of the busiest airports in the world from behind
18cm-thick, triple glazed, floor-to-ceiling glass. In
these spaces a roaring jet engine is just a murmur.
On the roof of one wing there’s an infinity-edge
pool and the facility also has a 929m 2 observation
deck and a fitness centre the same size. Eight bars
and six restaurants add to the entertainment mix.
The location of the event space was a challenge
for LCA – its sheer scale threatened to overwhelm
the light touch the firm was trying to maintain.
“It’s as if you want to just shove it underground!
And in fact that’s exactly what we did. We created
Previous pages, clockwise
from top left:Looking down on
the terminal from the London
Club area; the Sunken Lounge
at the TWA Hotel features its
original Chili Pepper Red carpet
and authentic penny tile; the
1962 Room offers 390m 2 of
ballroom space and 4.5m-high
ceilings; Eero Saarinen’s original
soaring terminal design serves as
the heart of the TWA Hotel.
Below:Flight tubes made famous
in the movie Catch Me If You Can
still bring passengers and visitors
to and from the hotel.
Facing page 1962 is alive and
kicking in the chic retro guest
rooms. Furniture pieces designed
by Saarinen and created by Knoll
are included in the design. The
bathroom even has a Hollywood
mirror in lights.