Skift Take

Anyone who has ever been through LAX's international terminal knows it sorely needed a better gateway, in all senses of that phrase. Now lets see if the humans operating it get any manners re-do, so to speak...

The newly redone Tom Bradley international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is almost done, and ready to relaunch and reopen in August this year. But prior to that, today the media and later this weekend the public gets a sneak peek at the new terminal, complete with all the new high end stores, restaurants, and facilities.

Designed by Fentress Architects, the terminal is the largest public works project in the history of Los Angeles, the backers claim. Its roofline, inspired by the overlapping waves of the Pacific Ocean, will surely be a new trademark for LAX, though to us it looks a bit similar to the new Emirates terminal in Dubai, but with wave breaks.

As the architects describe it, they go a bit overboard:

The intent of Fentress Architects’ design of the new Terminal is inspired by the Pacific Ocean, with a flowing roofline that recalls the rhythm of waves breaking on the beach. An open and spacious 100-foot-tall Great Hall suffused with natural daylight acknowledges Southern California’s temperate climate, while aluminum ceilings arch over the column-free structure. This design creates a single cohesive architectural theme that unifies the entire building, inside and out. The new Terminal has already won several architectural design awards and is expected to become a new iconic structure for Los Angeles, joining the historical LAX Theme Building with its parabolic arches.

RelatedLAX unveils $1.5 billion terminal design plan that includes local touch

The photos above are of the South Concourse aircraft gate areas and 150,000-square-foot Great Hall.

Below a photo timelapse of the new terminal being built from outside:

 

And below, the list of new stores and restaurants, to be operated by Westfield.

Download (PDF, 1MB)

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