If Airports Were More Like Libraries

Rather than gated commercial centers. Could we not make these 'in between' spaces into cultural hubs?

They’re some of the biggest hubs where people flow from different parts of the world. Hubs of privilege on one hand, because entry tickets are a large expense. Nets were hundreds of people work from different walks of life on the other.

Yet, with a few exceptions, airports all look alike. The sameness to how airports are structured serves a specific general purpose say mainstream opinion articles—to reduce stress, fear and disorientation, all factors that play a role in air travel.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas airport, Madrid opened in 1931. The Terminal 4 building—opened in 2006—is the work of architects Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela. Bamboo is the unifying element. I also liked the skylights. Both contribute to create a sense of calm. [Image: By Sadads - Own work, CC0, Wikimedia]

Maybe the configuration and flows do the job.

Some airport terminals do stand out for their beautiful architecture and use of lighting. So far, I’ve visited only a couple of those—the designs of both Madrid and Oslo have additional value in use.¹

I’d say in general we dislike being stuck in an airport.

I’m reminded of various reactions to ‘The Terminal.’ Like ‘Cast Away,’ but in an airport. Spielberg’s film² shows you can be just as alone in a crowd as you are by yourself. But it also speaks to strangers connecting across cultural barriers.

The most notable (as in pleasant) things that have happened to me at airports has been so far to cross path with interesting people. In one of our recent trips, I rubbed shoulders with Hugh Grant, actually.

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Grant must fly to get to places, like the rest of us. And he happened to board the train to the main hub for Terminal 5 in London right behind me. The doors nearly closed on his face. I think his stance was an attempt to transit under the radar.

I recognized him from the way he held his shoulders. Unlike the crowd that surged, I didn’t attempt a selfie. Incognito in regular clothes, Grant was a bigger hit than Chris Pine. We crossed paths with the ‘Nowhere Fast’ actor³ at the airport lounge on another occasion.

I caught his hair style and striped suit out of the corner of my eye after he got a plateful from the buffet. Pine was with a colleague (a guess). As I stood nearby, he debunked my impression that he was tall—funny how camera angles can skew reality.

Chance encounters

In a way, all our encounters at airports are by chance. We bump into people accidentally as we follow signs up escalators, or by design when we line up for boarding. It’s much nicer when there’s dialogue involved, rather than grunts.

My husband once crossed paths with Willem Dafoe.⁴ They had a satisfying conversation about rural Maine at the Portland Airport that nobody tried to interrupt.