Photos by Kenta Hasegawa | click to enlarge
You’ll want to run through this new terminal, even if you’re not late for your plane.
Yesterday Tokyo’s Narita Airport opened Terminal 3, a brand new terminal exclusively designed to service low-cost carriers. Much in the same way that UNIQLO has made low-cost fashion new and exciting, the project, an undertaking by 3 different companies over a 3-year period, was to create low-cost terminal without making it dull and boring. The answer? Running tracks used for track and field.
Blue lanes indicate departures while red lanes indicate arrivals
Follow the blue-padded road.
Easy-to-understand signage creates an airport that anyone speaking any language can understand. Blue lanes indicate departures while red lanes are for arrivals.
Cutting Costs but Not Corners
The budget for the new terminal was about half of the usual amount. So PARTY came up with numerous creative ways to cut costs without cutting corners. “We opted not to install the typical moving walkways or illuminated signs,” said the designers. “Instead, to offer an exciting walking experience that is easy on the feet.”
They collaborated with minamal Japanese company MUJI on all the furniture while Nikken, who worked on Tokyo Sky Tree, handled construction.
“When the time arrives for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, we look forward to seeing people from all around the world having fun walking on these blue tracks,” says the designers. But in the spirit of the Olympics, I look forward to seeing them running.
